HE  GIRL  AND 
HER  CHANCE 

T 

By    HARRIET    McDOUAL    DANIELS 

UC-NRLF 


SB 


flOS 


THE  GIRL  AND  HER  CHANCE 


THE  GIRL  AND 
HER  CHANCE 


A  Study  of  Conditions  Surrounding  the 

Young  Girl  Between  Fourteen  and 

Eighteen  Years  of  Age  in 

New  York  City 


Prepared  for  the  Association  of  Neighborhood  Workers 
of  New  York  City 


By 

HARRIET  McDOUAL  DANIELS 

\\ 

Union  Settlement 


NEW  YORK  CHICAGO  TORONTO 

Fleming    H.    Revell    Company 

LONDON         AND         EDINBURGH 


Copyright,  1914,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  125  North  Wabash  Ave. 
Toronto:  25  Richmond  Street,  W. 
London :  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:  100  Princes  Street 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Foreword  by  Mrs.  V.  G.  Simkhovitch. 
Introductory  Note. 

I.  Old  and  New  Aspects   11 

II.  The  Home    14 

III.  Efforts  at  Readjustment   24 

IV.  The  Education  of  the  City  Girls  27 

V.  Constructive  Elements  in  Education 34 

VI.  The  Industrial  Situation    44 

VII.  The  Industrial   Situation    (continued)    56 

VIII.  The  Love  of  Play  67 

IX.  The  Settlement  as  a  Factor 74 

X.  The  Church  and  the  Girl 85 

XI.  Organizations  for  Girls  in  New  York  City 88 


5 

3421G4 


CHARTS. 

PAGE 

1.  Curve  showing  Public   School  Attendance  of   Girls 

for  all  Grades  31 

2.  Occupations  of  New  York  City  Girls 46 

3.  Occupations    of    Girls    in    Thirty    New    York    Set- 

tlements     «. 51 

4.  Percentage   of   Occupations   in   Relation   to   Nation- 

ality   60-61 

5.  Nationality  of  Girls   in  Thirty  New   York   Settle- 
ments    76 

TABLES. 

PAGE 

1.  Occupations  of  Girls  in  New  York  City  47 

2.  Occupations    of    Girls    in    Relation    to    Nationality 

(Ages,  14-16  years)    62 

3.  Occupations    of    Girls    in    Relation    to    Nationality 

(Ages,  16-18  years)    62 


6 


FOREWORD 

THE  reader  will  find  in  this  book  not  only  a 
careful  statement  of  facts  collected  from  per- 
sons who  have  had  wide  and  long  continued 
experience,  but  also  a  study  which  is  checked  up  by  a 
personal  acquaintance  on  the  part  of  the  author  with 
many  working  girls. 

Trustworthy  as  to  fact,  the  study  is  also  sound  as 
to  inference.  The  more  we  learn  about  the  life  of  the 
industrial  family,  and  especially  about  the  young  girl 
who  has  suddenly  emerged  from  the  protection  of  a 
highly  centralized  and  authoritative  family  life  into 
the  confusion  of  modern  industrialism,  the  more  ob- 
vious does  it  become  that  two  great  changes  must  take 
place  and  are  taking  place;  first  the  humanizing  of 
industry  and  second  the  freeing  of  woman  that  she 
may  become  the  master  of  her  own  life. 

Indeed  it  is  doubtful  if  the  former  is  possible  with- 
out the  latter.  Self  mastery  comes  to  some  through 
religion,  to  others  through  the  interlocking  necessities 
and  mutual  aid  of  family  life.  To  all  it  comes  as  a 
result  of  that  group  experience  which  is  the  matrix  of 
religion,  of  art,  and  of  politics. 

MARY  K.  SIMKHOVITCH. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

In  June,  1911,  at  the  National  Federation  of  Charities 
and  Corrections  in  Boston,  a  National  Federation  of 
Settlements  was  formed.  As  a  subject  of  study  for  the 
year  the  problem  of  the  adolescent  girl  between  fourteen 
and  eighteen  years  of  age  was  taken,  with  the  hope  that 
"through  this  interchange  of  experience  a  number  of  prac- 
tical conclusions  might  be  reached  which  would  have 
unique  value  for  each  of  the  four  hundred  Settlements  in 
the  United  States."1  In  November,  1911,  the  subject  was 
discussed  before  the  Association  of  Neighborhood  Work- 
ers of  New  York  City  and  in  December,  1911,  it  was 
decided  that  in  addition  to  the  general  survey  covering  all 
Settlements  a  special  survey  of  New  York  City  be  made. 
A  committee  was  appointed  as  follows:  Mrs.  Vladimir 
G.  Simkhovitch,  chairman,  Greenwich  House;  Miss  Lillian 
Wald,  Henry  Street  Settlement;  Dr.  Jane  Robbins,  Little 
Italy  Neighborhood  House,  Brooklyn;  Miss  May  Mat- 
thews, Hartley  House;  Miss  Alice  Gannett,  Lenox  Hill 
House;  and  Mr.  Robbins  Gilman,  University  Settlement. 
The  actual  work  was  begun  in  January,  1912,  and  has  con- 
tinued for  the  greater  part  of  two  years. 

The  vast  amount  of  material  gathered  from  the  many 
Settlements  in  the  United  States  and  edited  by  Mr.  Robert 
A.  Woods  and  Mr.  Albert  J.  Kennedy,  of  South  End 
House,  Boston,  was  published  last  fall  under  the  title 
"Young  Working  Girls."  To  those  of  us  who  have  sought 
in  vain  for  literature  on  the  girl  problem,  this  book,  with 
its  wealth  of  material  and  its  sane  broad  point  of  view, 
gives  a  comprehensive  understanding  of  this  most  difficult 
of  all  problems.  And  while  the  subject  matter  in  the  fol- 
lowing pages  of  this  book  will  be  found  to  approximate 
closely  that  found  in  "Young  Working  Girls,"  it  was  felt 
by  those  most  interested  that  the  peculiar  social  conditions 

1  See  Schedule  on  the  Problem  of  the  Adolescent  Girl. 
National  Federation  of  Settlements:  1911-1912. 

9 


10  INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 

existing  in  New  York  City  would  give  a  unique  value  to 
this  study.  This,  then,  furnishes  our  excuse  for  so  soon 
placing  before  the  public  another  book  on  the  same  topic 
and  following  so  closely  the  same  lines.  We  feel  the  two 
books  supplement  each  other,  the  one  giving  the  broad 
general  view,  the  other  tending  towards  the  concrete  prob- 
lem as  it  presents  itself  in  the  City  of  New  York. 

The  data  for  the  New  York  survey  were  obtained  from 
42  New  York  and  Brooklyn  Settlements,  from  some  thirty 
organizations  dealing  directly  or  indirectly  with  the  adoles- 
cent girl,  from  80  churches  where  social  work  is  carried 
on;  and  in  addition  to  the  above,  many  hundred  workers 
with  girls,  such  as  school  and  district  superintendents, 
teachers,  school  visitors,  librarians,  lecturers  and  club 
leaders,  were  interviewed.  Thanks  are  due  to  the  many 
Settlements,  clubs,  organizations,  and  churches  whose 
hearty  co-operation  has  made  this  study  possible.  In  par- 
ticular do  we  extend  our  thanks  to  those  who  have  given 
us  the  use  of  unpublished  material. 


OLD  AND  NEW  ASPECTS 

BEFORE  entering  upon  the  results  of  this  survey, 
attention  must  be  called  to  two  facts  that  have 
an  important  bearing  on  the  study  of  the  ado- 
lescent girl.  First  and  foremost  must  be  noted  the 
far-reaching  social  and  economic  changes  of  the  past 
twenty  years  that  have  so  completely  altered  the  po- 
sition of  woman  in  the  world.  The  girl  is  no  longer 
safeguarded  as  she  has  been  in  the  past.  The  older 
type  of  woman,  the  "haus-frau,"  whose  place  of  busi- 
ness was  the  home,  whose  horizon  was  bounded  by 
household  cares,  is  superseded  by  the  new  woman,  no 
less  womanly  but  with  broader  interests  and  a  better 
understanding  of  life;  if  less  tender,  less  sentimental 
and  possessing  a  new  element  of  womanly  strength. 
So  that  in  considering  her  home  environment,  her 
education  and  her  place  in  industry,  we  must  remem- 
ber that  the  girl  is  to  be  prepared  not  for  the  older 
type  of  womanhood  but  for  the  new  and  responsible 
position  of  woman  in  the  world. 

Moreover,  this  investigation  is  differentiated  from 
other  investigations  by  dealing,  not  alone  with  tables 
of  statistics,  with  wages  and  hours  of  work,  but  with 
that  most  pliable  and  varying  element  of  all  elements 
— the  human  being;  and  from  all  the  myriad  types  of 
human  beings,  we  must  select  the  most  variable  quan- 
tity to  be  found,  the  most  unstable  and  uncertain,  the 
one  whose  actions  can  be  least  foretold  and  whose  inner 
life  is  the  most  difficult  to  understand — the  young  girl 
at  the  period  of  adolescence. 

ii 


12  OLD  AND  NEW  ASPECTS. 

The  fourteenth  year  marks  the  height  of  these 
adolescent  disorders.  Up  to  ten  years  of  age  the  girl 
is  a  child  growing  naturally  as  all  children  do.  In  the 
few  years  preceding  adolescence  the  rate  of  growth 
in  both  height  and  weight  is  diminished  as  if  nature 
wished  to  conserve  her  strength  for  the  coming  strug- 
gle1. But  at  about  ten  years  of  age  the  most  significant 
changes  begin.  The  girl  suddenly  shoots  up  and  from 
thirteen  to  fifteen  distances  her  brother  in  both  height 
and  weight.  At  seventeen  or  eighteen  she  has  practi- 
cally ceased  to  grow.  Moreover,  the  separate  parts 
and  organs  of  the  body  do  not  grow  in  equal  ratio 
so  that  the  "due  balance  and  harmony  of  growth"2 
is  disturbed.  "Adolescence  begins  with  a  new  wave 
of  vitality  seen  in  growth  ;  in  the  modification  of  near- 
ly every  organ;  in  new  interests,  instincts  and  ten- 
dencies ;  increased  appetite  and  curiosity,  so  that  ..... 
it  is  physiological  second  birth.3"  Added  to  these  sig- 
nificant changes  that  are  so  far-reaching  in  their  ef- 
fects, is  that  most  vital  change  of  all,  the  development 
of  the  reproductive  organs  which  together  with  the 
establishment  of  the  menstrual  period,  makes  this  the 
most  critical  period  of  the  girl's  life. 

It  is  necessary,  then,  to  keep  in  mind  these  two  facts 
in  the  following  study.  Moreover,  because  of  the 
nature  of  the  investigation  and  because  the  problem 
under  consideration  offers  practically  an  unexplored 
field,  the  survey  cannot  in  any  way  be  regarded  as  an 
intensive  study  but  rather  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  situ- 
ation ;  in  other  words,  as  a  general  survey  of  the  field. 


l,  G.  Stanley:  Adolescence;  Vol.  i,  pp.  14,  16,  23. 
2  Ibid.    pp.  51-52. 
a  Ibid.    p.  308. 


OLD  AND  NEW  ASPECTS  .13 

The  results  are  extensive,  impressionistic,  rather  than 
specific  and  direct.  If,  however,  we  have  brought  to- 
gether some  few  facts  that  bear  on  the  girl  and  her 
problems  and  if  through  these  facts  we  can  arouse  the 
spirit  of  sympathy  and  interest  that  will  make  possible 
further  study  of  this  all-important  subject,  we  shall 
feel  well  content. 


II 

THE  HOME 

IT  is  perhaps  trite  to  say  that  of  all  the  influences 
that  act  upon  the  child  during  its  formative 
years,  the  most  powerful  is  that  of  the  home. 
Whether  this  influence  retains  its  potency  during  the 
adolescent  period  is  a  question.  The  restlessness  under 
restraint,  the  sense  of  adventure,  the  new  aspect  toward 
life,  all  tend  to  drive  the  girl  away  from  parental  con- 
trol. It  is  true  that  this  state  of  affairs  will  readjust 
itself  later  after  the  storm  and  stress  of  the  adolescent 
period  but  meanwhile  an  untold  amount  of  suffering 
is  caused  and  the  girl  even  when  blessed  with  a  good 
home,  is  subject  to  a  vast  number  of  mental  and  moral 
dangers. 

To  the  unprotected  girl,  the  element  of  physical 
danger  is  added.  Our  inquiry  deals  in  particular  with 
this  girl.  Does  she  have  an  adequate  home?  What 
of  its  influence  on  her?  Is  the  attitude  of  the  other 
members  of  the  family  a  just  one?  And  how  does  the 
girl  herself  react  on  this  environment? 

It  seems  hardly  worth  our  while  to  spend  much  time 
on  the  physical  home  when  the  knowledge  of  existing 
conditions  is  so  widespread.  Among  the  evils  accen- 
tuated, we  find  the  impossibility  of  quiet,  the  lack  of 
privacy,  the  lodger  evil  and  the  most  frightful  over- 
crowding.1 

1  Read  Vieller :  Housing  Reform  and 

A  Model  Tenement  House  Law. 

14 


THE  HOME  13 

This  over-crowding  is  unqualifiedly  bad.  The 
working-girl  returns  at  night  to  a  few  small  rooms, 
some  of  them  without  light  or  ventilation,  all  of  them 
crowded  to  their  limit  by  the  family.  She  has  nowhere 
to  rest,  no  moment  of  quiet  to  recover  her  equilibrium 
after  the  day's  hard  work.  In  many  cases  she  must 
help  with  the  housework.  If  she  wishes  recreation,  she 
must  find  it  elsewhere;  and  at  night  she  must  sleep 
with  one  and  perhaps  more  bed-fellows,  the  street 
noises  breaking  her  rest.  Everyone  needs  time  away 
from  others  and  this  under  existing  conditions  is  im- 
possible. Aside  from  the  danger  of  infectious  and  con- 
tagious diseases,  the  strain  on  the  nerves  caused  by  this 
over-crowding  is  enormous.  The  increasing  number 
of  nervous  break-downs  alone  prove  this.  The  moral 
and  social  effects  are  even  more  serious.  "When  a 
whole  family,  adults  and  children  of  both  sexes,  is 
crowded  together  in  a  single  room,  moral  degredation 
is  almost  inevitable.1" 

Moreover,  the  lodger  evil  adds  greatly  to  this 
danger.  One  of  the  most  prominent  social  workers  in 
New  York  made  the  interesting  statement  that  the 
present  tenement  house  law  is  based  entirely  on  sani- 
tary conditions  and  while  this  is  most  necessary  and 
excellent,  it  has  resulted  in  making  the  social  environ- 
ment even  worse  than  in  former  years.  It  has  provided 
light  rooms  and  separate  toilets  and  even  in  some  cases 
bath-rooms,  and  so  has  raised  the  standard  of  living; 
but  light  and  space  and  aids  to  cleanliness  almost  in- 
evitably mean  higher  rents,  and  many  families,  in  order 
to  meet  the  increased  demand  on  their  money,  have 


1  Seligman,  R.  A.:    Report  prepared  by  — ;    The  Social 
Evil,  p.  128. 


16  THE  HOME 

been  forced  to  take  lodgers  and  so  have  disturbed  the 
unity  of  the  family  life.  In  the  reports  on  the  con- 
ditions existing  among  those  working  on  men's  cloth- 
ing, the  status  of  853  families  was  studied.  Of  the 
53  German  families,  only  three  took  lodgers  or 
boarders.  There  were  95  Jewish  families;  17.  took 
lodgers,  there  being  in  many  cases  more  than  one 
lodger.  Among  the  695  Italian  families,  there  were 
190  families  taking  in  378  boarders  and  lodgers,  or 
two  to  a  family.  The  Germans  are  evidently  not 
accustomed  to  eke  out  their  income  in  this  way;  but 
nearly  18%  of  the  Jewish  ana1  27%  of  the  Italian 
families — over  one-fourth — have  outsiders  in  their 
homes.1  One  case  was  reported  where  a  young  and 
pretty  daughter  was  sleeping  with  a  woman  lodger 
of  openly  evil  repute.  When  the  mother  was  spoken 
to,  she  seemed  to  see  no  way  out  of  the  difficulty.  The 
added  income  more  than  outweighed  the  moral  danger. 
In  a  questionaire  sent  out  by  a  certain  settlement  to 
its  club  girls  between  fourteen  and  eighteen  years  of 
age,  the  following  question  was  asked:  Do  you  keep 
any  boarders  ?  Of  the  nineteen  girls  who  answered  this 
question,  only  two  kept  boarders.  The  investigator,  in 
commenting  on  their  answers,  says  that  it  seems  to  be 
a  delicate  subject,  as  if  the  keeping  of  lodgers  or 
boarders  needed  excuse.  One  girl  writes  that  they 
"don't  and  never  did  keep  them"!  And  another, 
seemingly  aware  of  danger,  says,  "We  do  not  keep 
boarders.  I  do  not  like  them,  because  they  interfere 
very  much  with  the  girl  children  in  the  family,  and 
because  thank  God  we  do  not  need  to  keep  them/'2 

1  Wage-Earning   Women    and    Children:     U.    S.    Dep't 
of  Labor;   Vol.  2;   pp.  630-1. 

2  From  a  special  study  of  the  Home  Conditions  of  19 
Russian- Jewish  Girls — by  the  Harlem  Federation. 


THE  HOME  17 

The  economic  pressure  that  compels  so  many  families 
to  take  lodgers,  forces  the  girl  out  into  the  world.  The 
parents  in  far  too  many  cases  regard  their  children  as 
economic  assets  and  as  such  expect  them  to  go  to  work 
at  the  earliest  age  possible.  "Yes,  we're  havin'  a  hard 
time;  but  Florence  will  soon  be  fourteen  and  then 
she'll  help."  "Rosie,  she  work  next  a  year.  Rosie, 
she  help."  These  are  remarks  heard  daily  among 
the  working  class.  In  the  many  interviews  held 
with  social  workers  the  conclusion  was  unanimous 
that  the  children  were  regarded  as  economic  assets, 
that  the  father  in  many  cases  exploited  his  sons  and 
daughters,  and  that  while  there  was  seldom  actual 
cruelty  beyond  harsh  and  vulgar  words,  there  was  too 
often  little  or  no  interest  in  the  child  as  an  individual. 

The  standpoint  of  the  mother  is  even  more  vital 
than  that  of  the  father,  for  it  is  to  her  that  the  grow- 
ing girl  should  come  for  help  and  advice.  And  here 
too  the  social  workers  of  the  city  are  unanimously 
agreed  on  the  utter  lack  of  understanding  between 
mother  and  daughter. 

Perhaps,  after  all,  it  is  too  much  to  hope  that  mem- 
bers of  one  generation  can  understand  fully  those  of 
another  and  younger  generation.  And  just  at  this 
time  of  adolescence,  the  girl  is  most  difficult  to  reach. 
Doubtless  a  certain  amount  of  misunderstanding  is 
inevitable  and  to  be  accepted  without  too  great  sur- 
prise but  that  there  should  be  such  a  complete  lack  of 
friendship  as  exists  at  present  between  the  vast  ma- 
jority of  the  mothers  of  the  working  class  and  their 
daughters  points  to  some  hidden  reason  other  than  the 
difference  in  the  point  of  view  of  the  two  generations 
or  the  storm  and  stress  of  the  adolescent  period.  And 
this  is  found  in  the  effort  at  readjustment  being  made 


i8  THE  HOME 

by  foreigners  between  the  traditional  customs  of  the 
home  country  and  the  conditions,  economic  and  social, 
existing  in  the  new  world. 

Of  the  groups  of  nationalities  in  this  country,  none 
present  a  more  interesting  picture  than  the  Italian. 
In  coming  to  America  he  has  brought  with  him  the 
time-honored  traditions  of  Italy.  The  father  must 
work,  usually  at  manual  labor;  the  mother  keeps  the 
house.  The  children  run  wild  and  the  boy  later  "sows 
his  wild  oats'*  but  the  maturing  girl  is  guarded  with 
the  most  jealous  care  until  a  husband  is  found  for  her 
and  she  is  safely  landed  in  the  married  state.  In  Italy 
the  girls  acquiesce;  these  laws  are  natural,  sanctioned 
by  tradition;  there  is  no  questioning  of  them.  Then 
the  family  comes  to  America.  The  father,  working  in 
the  ditch,  spending  his  evenings  at  his  club  or  in  the 
saloon,  gains  his  knowledge  of  America  from  the  ward 
politician  or  from  the  man  he  has  pushed  up  in  the  social 
scale  and  who  calls  him  a  "dago."  The  Italian  mother 
stays  at  home.  She  may  remain  in  this  country  for 
years  without  learning  the  language  or  going  a  block 
away  from  home.  She  tends  the  house,  sets  fairly  good 
food  before  her  husband  and  children  and  then,  under 
economic  pressure,  finding  that  she  can  earn  money 
by  taking  in  work,  she  sews  on  garments  or  makes 
artificial  flowers.  After  school  the  children  help; 
and  the  sweating  industry  has  sprung  into  life  full- 
grown.  Moreover,  the  Italian,  finding  that  his  neigh- 
bor's children  work  and  seeing  the  economic  value  of 
such  a  procedure,  is  ready  to  take  his  daughter  from 
school  and  put  her  to  work  at  the  earliest  possible 
moment.  And  the  girl,  imbued  with  the  independent 
spirit  of  America,  needs  no  urging.  But  in  forcing 
his  daughter  out  into  the  world  the  father  has  ex- 


THE  HOME  19 

posed  her  to  new  influences  and  a  new  environment 
and  it  is  not  strange  that  she  soon  resists  the  attitude 
of  her  parents.  As  soon  as  she  matures,  strict  super- 
vision begins.  It  hardly  seems  a  reasoning  out  of  the 
matter ;  it  is  more  like  an  instinct,  a  superstition.  And 
the  girl  resents  the  curtailing  of  her  liberty.  So  far 
they  have  been  held  by  tradition,  but  the  time  is  coming 
when  they  will  break  away  from  this  restraint  and 
with  the  centuries  of  dependent  womanhood  behind 
them,  it  will  be  strange  indeed  if  many  do  not  succumb 
to  the  countless  temptations  met  on  every  hand. 

The  Hebrew  problem  carries  with  it  many  of  the 
same  aspects  save  that  here  the  awakening  has  already 
come.  The  great  Jewish  traditions,  the  centuries-old 
religious  belief  with  its  beauty  and  grandeur,  are  being 
swept  impatiently  aside  by  the  Jewish  girl  as  she  enters 
industry;  and  we  find  mainly  because  of  her 
native  curiosity  and  her  independent  spirit,  a  surpris- 
ing number  of  the  Jewish  girls  among  the  ranks  of  the 
prostitutes.  She  will  doubtless  be  safer  than  the  Italian 
girl,  however,  when  once  the  period  of  transition  is 
passed  for  she  has  the  safeguard  of  intellectual  ability. 
The  attitude  of  the  parents  too  is  of  a  different  type. 
While  they  expect  their  daughters  to  work  they  realise 
the  value  of  education  and  a  vast  number  of  Jews  are 
found  in  the  higher  institutions  of  learning. 

The  Irish  are  fast  becoming  Americanized.  The 
difficulty  here  is  not  the  re-adjustment  of  the  tradi- 
tional point  of  view  to  modern  American  ideals,  but 
especially  with  the  poorer  Irish  a  certain  lack  of  in- 
terest in  their  children.  It  is  the  lazy  careless  happy- 
go-lucky  attitude  so  common  to  this  nation  that  harms. 
In  the  better  homes,  however,  there  is  a  real  interest 
in  the  girl  and  we  see  little  of  the  tendency  to  ex- 


20  THE  HOME 

ploit  the  children  that  is  shown  among  the  Italians 
and  the  Jews.  The  Irish  mother  is  anxious,  fearful 
for  the  girl  and  eager  to  help;  and  it  may  be  safely 
said  that  the  better  Irish  parent  is  more  interested  in 
his  sons  and  daughters  as  individuals  than  either  the 
Italian  or  the  Jew. 

Not  only  is  the  parent  inclined  to  misunderstand  the 
girl  at  home  but  the  case  is  rare  indeed  where  the 
parents  take  an  interest  in  the  conditions  surrounding 
the  girl  in  her  hours  away  from  home.  One  mother, 
when  the  wisdom  of  knowing  where  her  daughter  was 
employed  was  suggested,  answered,  "Oh,  she  can  take 
care  of  herself."  This  seems  to  be  the  general  atti- 
tude. Of  course  this  is  in  some  measure  explained  by 
the  mother's  lack  of  English  and  the  confusion  at  the 
new  method  of  life  together  witK  the  girl's  independent 
attitude.  The  economic  factor  is  also  important.  The 
average  mother,  if  the  question  of  a  good  wage  under 
poor  conditions  and  a  smaller  wage  under  better  con- 
ditions comes  up,  will  invariably  decide  in  favor  of 
the  higher  wage. 

In  the  matter  of  recreation  the  parents  are  somewhat 
more  interested.  The  possibility  of  the  girl  getting  into 
trouble  and  so  disgracing  the  family  is  an  ever  pres- 
ent one.  The  Jewish  mother  dresses  her  daughter  well 
in  order  that  she  may  make  a  good  match  while  her 
father  watches  carefully  the  "company  she  keeps."  The 
Italian  tries  to  circumvent  trouble  by  keeping  his 
daughter  virtually  a  prisoner.  Nowhere  is  found  a 
true  sense  of  the  need  of  recreation  for  the  growing 
girl.  Many  parents  are  most  just  to  their  daughters 
in  the  necessities  of  life  but  they  have  yet  to  learn  that 
recreation  is  also  a  necessity  and  that  their  present 


THE  HOME  21 

attitude  of  regarding  fun  as  a  luxury  is  fundamentally 
wrong. 

But  what  of  the  girl  herself  and  her  attitude  toward 
the  home?  Up  to  fourteen  and  indeed  till  she  leaves 
school  she  is  to  all  intents  and  purposes  a  little  girl, 
often  naughty  and  unmanageable,  but  after  all  in  most 
cases  conforming  outwardly  at  least  to  her  parents' 
point  of  view.  At  fourteen  she  enters  the  most  critical 
part  of  the  adolescent  period;  added  to  this  in  many 
cases  she  enters  the  industrial  world.  She  suddenly 
finds  herself  of  importance ;  she  has  become  a  factor  in 
the  family  life.  In  many  cases  her  mother  cannot 
speak  English  and  she  is  called  upon  to  transact  the 
business  of  the  family.  She  works  and  brings  in  money 
as  her  father  and  brothers  do.  Unlike  them  she  hands 
it  over  intact  to  her  mother.)  This  seems  a  universal 
custom.  Miss  VanKleeck  states  that  generally  speak- 
ing 85%  of  the  girls  who  live  at  home  hand  all  their 
money  to  their  mothers.  Of  344  department  store 
girls  recently  interviewed,  290  or  84%  gave  all  their 
wages  to  their  families;  41  gave  part  and  only  13 
gave  none.  Of  1,532  factory  girls,  1,349  or  SS% 
gave  all  to  their  families  and  only  10  gave  none.1 

Strange  to  say,  the  girls  do  not  resent  this.  Where 
this  has  been  discussed  in  girls'  clubs  the  opinion  has 
been  practically  unanimous  that  it  is  the  right  thing  to 
do.  "Boys  are  different/'  said  one  girl.  "Of  course 
it  is  different  if  you  are  a  daughter,'*  said  another. 
"It  just  wouldn't  seem  nice  not  to,"  added  a  third. 
Further,  the  girl  seems  to  feel  that  if  she  hands  over 
all  her  money  to  her  mother  she  has  a  right  to  remain 


1 U.   S.   Dep't  of  Labor :    Wage-Earning  Women   and 
Children  :   Vol.  5,  pp.  20. 


22  THE  HOME 

at  home  when  out  of  work  and  the  seasonal  aspect  of 
woman's  work  makes  this  a  pertinent  question. 

It  woujS  seem  unwise  to  urge  the  girl  to  relinquish 
this  fine  spirit  of  helpfulness.  The  girls  usually  know 
how  the  money  is  spent.  Indeed,  I  feel  we  underesti- 
mate the  knowledge  the  girls  have  of  family  affairs, 
for  as  a  rule  the  girl's  touch  with  the  home  life  is  so 
intimate  that  she  as  well  as  her  mother  knows  the 
necessity  of  economy  and  wise  expenditure. 

A  questionaire  was  recently  sent  out  by  a  New  York 
settlement,1  to  73  Russian  Jewish  girls  asking  ques- 
tions on  home  conditions;  only  nineteen  answered  but 
their  answers  are  worthy  of  consideration.  Most  of 
these  nineteen  said  they  were  happy  in  their  homes.  One 
says  "I  am  as  happy  as  one  would  be  if  it  rained  a  few 
days  and  then  sunshine  is  here."  The  mother  seems  to 
be  a  more  natural  confidante  for  the  girl  than  the 
father  who  "would  laugh  at  me."  The  busy  life  of 
the  mother  seems  to  leave  little  time  for  confidences, 
however,  and  so  many  girls  confide  in  their  friends. 

The  girls  seem  to  realize  the  burdens  of  the  mothers. 
One  little  girl,  speaking  of  these  burdens,  says,  "You 
see  I  can't  be  very  happy  because  I  understand  the 
conditions."  The  question  was  asked  "Are  your  par- 
ents interested  in  your  club  and  in  the  other  things 
you  do?"  One  writes  "My  mother  and  father  are 
very  interested  in  my  doings  so  that  I  will  not  go 
wrong.  They  are  interested  in  my  club  but  not  very." 
And  another — "They  always  give  me  a  nickel  for  the 
club  with  a  will.  Therefore  I  think  they  are  inter- 
ested." All  the  answers  are  in  the  affirmative  with 
qualifications.  This  certainly  gives  us  a  brighter  pic- 

1  The  Harlem  Federation. 


THE  HOME  23 

ture  than  painted  elsewhere  but  it  should  be  noted  in 
passing  that  of  these  nineteen  girls,  twelve  are  school 
girls  and  eight  of  these  twelve  are  in  the  high  school 
while  one  is  studying  music  and  two  more  expect  to  go 
to  high  school ;  hence,  an  intelligent  group. 


Ill 

EFFORTS  AT  READJUSTMENT 

MANY  of  the  settlements  and  church  houses 
are  doing  constructive  work  in  readjusting 
the  difficulty  of  the  misunderstanding  be- 
tween the  parent  and  daughter.  (  The  most  satisfactory 
method  begins  with  home  visiting.  Not  only  is  it 
possible  thus  to  get  in  touch  with  the  parents  them- 
selves but  the  back-ground  this  home  picture  gives, 
helps  greatly  in  dealing  with  the  girl  herself.)  Often 
a  chance  word  will  open  the  eyes  of  the  mother  or 
father  to  the  daughter's  worth  and  needs,  and  a  word 
about  her  mother  will  perhaps  show  the  girl  the  too 
often  tragic  pathos  of  her  mother's  life. 

Talks  to  groups  of  girls  on  the  home  or  discussions 
before  mothers'  clubs  on  the  problems  that  confront 
the  growing  girls,  have  met  with  undoubted  success. 
The  so-called  sex-hygiene  lectures  given  in  the  ma- 
jority of  settlements  have  without  any  doubt  given  to 
both  girls  and  parents  a  new  point  of  view  and  a 
greater  sympathy  with  one  another.  If  the  talks  can 
be  given  to  the  foreign  mothers  in  their  own  language 
there  is  a  greater  likelihood  of  complete  understanding 
on  the  part  of  the  mother. 

Further,  a  strong  effort  should  be  made  to  preserve 
the  family  unit.  There  is  probably  not  a  worker  among 
the  Italians  who  has  not  encountered  the  difficulty  of 
building  up  clubs  of  Italian  girls,  |and  the  difficulty 
can  easily  be  solved  by  asking  the  family  as  a  whole. 
Those  who  have  seen  the  Italians  at  Hull  House  where 
the  entire  family, — parents,  children,  yes,  and  grand- 

24 


EFFORTS  AT  READJUSTMENT        25 

parents — meet  together  for  a  social  evening,  will  real- 
ise the  value  of  this  work.  Sometimes  the  girls  them- 
selves can  be  persuaded  to  give  a  party  for  their 
mothers  and  in  this  way  a  more  friendly  feeling  may  be 
established.  The  loss  of  the  family  unity  is  one  of 
the  most  serious  evils  of  the  times  and  it  is  only  by 
giving  the  members  of  the  family  group  some  common 
interest  that  we  can  hope  to  hold  them  together.  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  mention  in  this  connection  the  tre- 
mendous unifying  powrer  of  religion. 

Another  interesting  attempt  has  been  made  to  bridge 
over  this  gulf  between  parent  and  daughter  by  a  social 
worker  who  has  offered  her  services  as  go-between  at 
the  public  school  in  her  district.  During  certain  hours 
she  is  on  hand  to  talk  over  with  any  mother  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  girl's  future.  This  is  along  the  line  of 
vocational  guidance  but  reaches  out  to  the  mother 
rather  than  to  the  girl. 

Enough  cannot  be  said  for  the  study  of  old-country 
traditions  with  a  view  of  interesting  the  girl  in  all 
that  her  forebears  knew  and  loved.  It  would  indeed 
be  a  pity  if  the  present  generation  grew  into  woman- 
hood with  a  scorn  for  the  fine  old  traditions  of  the 
fatherland.  One  club  of  Irish  girls  is  becoming 
greatly  interested  in  the  Irish  legends  through  a  study 
of  the  Irish  songs.  In  like  manner  the  Jewish  club 
and  the  Italian  group  should  know  aind  love  the 
characteristics  of  their  nation  and  race.  And  it  is  not 
too  much  to  hope  that  this  also  will  aid  in  doing  away 
with  the  misunderstanding  now  so  apparent. 

The  girl  must  not  only  be  reconciled  to  her  parents' 
home  but  she  must  also  be  prepared  for  the  future 
home  which  in  all  probability  will  be  hers.  Certainly 
no  one  can  speak  with  greater  authority  on  this  sub- 


26        EFFORTS  AT  READJUSTMENT 

ject  of  training  for  the  horne  than  Miss  Mabel  Kit- 
tredge.  Through  her  unremitting  toil,  there  are  now 
established  in  different  parts  of  the  city  several  centers 
where  girls  are  taught  house-keeping  and  home-making. 
Miss  Kittredge  is  instrumental  also  in  obtaining  the 
first  model  flat  in  the  public  schools.  As  Miss  Kit- 
tredge suggests,  the  best  way  to  teach  the  children  is 
to  train  them  under  conditions  somewhat  resembling 
the  situation  at  home;  heretofore  the  domestic  science 
rooms  of  the  schools  have  presented  to  the  child  noth- 
ing whatever  resembling  the  home ;  with  the  establish- 
ment of  this  new  model  flat,  a  new  order  has  begun. 

Much  of  the  work  done  along  this  line  as  yet  finds 
its  outlet  in  the  inevitable  cooking  and  sewing  classes. 
There  is  a  call  for  something  broader,  more  construc- 
tive^ better  rounded  out  to  fill  the  girl's  future  needs. 
/Coud  not  a  course,  called  perhaps  a  Home- Making 
\  Course,  be  planned,  where  the  necessary  sex  instruc- 
(tion  could  be  given,  followed  by  child-study;  and  this 
;  in  turn  could  be  followed  by  house  furnishing  and  deco- 
<  rating,  by  lessons  in  buying  and  preparing  food,  and 
in  the  general  care  of  the  home.    The  eagerness  of  girls 
seventeen  and  eighteen  years  to  obtain  definite  informa- 
tion along  all   these  lines  leads   one   to   believe   that 
such  a  course  would  be  popular  as  well  as  educative. 


IV 
THE  EDUCATION  OF  CITY  GIRLS 

BEFORE  entering  into  a  discussion  on  the  edu- 
cation of  the  adolescent  girl,  and  in  what  way 
this  education  prepares  her  for  life,  let  me 
state  briefly  the  Compulsory  Education  Law  of  New 
York  State.  This  law  provides  that  all  children  be- 
tween seven  and  fourteen  years  of  age  in  proper  mental 
and  physical  condition  be  required  to  attend  upon 
instructions,  namely,  (i)  All  children  between  seven 
and  fourteen  years  of  age  must  attend  during  the  en- 
tire period  the  school  attended  is  in  session;1  and 
(2)  All  children  between  fourteen  and  sixteen  years 
of  age  must  attend  school  when  not  regularly  employed 
under  the  labor  certificates2  issued  by  the  local  Board  of 
Health.1  Boys,  unless  they  have  completed  the  gram- 
mar school,  must  attend  evening  school.  There  are 
no  regulations  in  this  matter  regarding  girls. 

There  are  in  Greater  New  York  527  day  schools. 
Of  these  496  are  elementary  schools,  21  are  high 
schools  or  schools  with  high  school  departments  and 
two  are  vocational  schools.  There  are  besides  three 
training  schools,  three  truant  schools,  one  school  for 
the  deaf  and  one  nautical  school.  The  evening  schools 
number  122;  103  elementary  schools,  15  high  schools 
and  4  trade  schools.8 

1  See  Education  Law  621 ;   624. 

2  See  Labor  Law  70-73 ;    161-165. 

3  See  Fourteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  City  Superin- 
tendent of  Schools  for  the  year  ending  July  31,  1912.    pp. 
18-19. 

27 


28    THE  EDUCATION  OF  CITY  GIRLS 

In  addition  to  these  public  schools  of  Greater  New 
York,  the  city  has  45  corporate  schools,  industrial 
schools,  etc.,  which  receive  a  share  of  the  school  fund. 
There  are  1 7O-odd  parochial  schools  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  private  schools.1 

In  giving  these  statistics,  I  wish  merely  to  call  to 
your  attention  certain  interesting  contrasts — twenty- 
three  times  as  many  elementary  schools  as  high  schools 
and  only  one  trade  school  for  every  248  elementary 
schools !  Evidently  our  girls  do  not  wish  and  certainly 
do  not  receive,  either  trade  training  or  a  higher  edu- 
cation. 

The  population  of  Greater  New  York  is  approxi- 
mately 5,000,000.  The  Board  of  Health  estimated 
that  on  July  31,  1912,  the  number  of  children  between 
five  and  eighteen  years  of  age  was  approximately  1,266,- 
ooo.2  The  net  enrollment  of  the  public  schools  was 
785,642  or  15.7%  of  the  population  and  62% 
of  all  the  children  of  school  age.  Since  the  school  law 
is  compulsory  for  all  classes  of  society  the  remaining 
38%  are  to  be  found  in  the  parochial,  private  and  cor- 
porate schools.  The  net  enrollment  of  the  kindergarten 
is  52,226,  of  the  elementary  schools  672,360,  of  the 
high  schools  56,788,  and  of  the  vocational  schools 

1,871.* 

Let  us  look  at  this  from  the  point  of  view  of  age. 
There  were  in  1911-1912  in  the  elementary  schools, 
high  schools,  and  the  trade  schools  of  Greater  New 
York: 


pp.  19. 

2  Ibid :   pp.  34. 

3  Ibid :    pp.  21-24. 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  CITY  GIRLS    29 

32,656  girls  between  13  and  14  years  of  age 

26,453  "  "       14     "  15     "  "  " 

15,431  "  "       15     "  16     "  "  "' 

7,159  "  "       16    "  17     "  "  " 

3,124  "  "       17     "  18     "  "  " 

2,780  "  1 8  years  and  over.1 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  beginning  with  the  seven 
year-old  at  33,281,  the  number  of  girls  in  school  rises 
to  35,196  in  the  next  year,  and  from  that  time  on  the 
fluctuation  is  never  more  than  1,000  until  the  drop  at 
the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  year  when  the  curve 
descends  almost  perpendicularly.  (See  Chart  I).  It 
is  easy  to  see  without  further  comment  that  the  vast 
majority  of  our  girls  leave  school  without  taking  a 
high  school  course. 

The  number  of  boys  and  girls  graduating  in  1911- 
1912  was  38,951  and  the  number  entering  high  school 
from  the  public  schools  22,773  or  58,%  of  those  gradu- 
ating.2 We  find,  then,  that  some  16,000  leave  school 
after  graduating  and  doubtless  enter  industry. 

Moreover,  there  were  40,591  employment  certificates 
issued  in  the  single  year  1911-1912  by  the  Board  of 
Health.3  Over  24,000  of  these,  then,  were  to  pupils 
who  had  not  completed  the  elementary  school  course. 
Indeed,  the  median  child  who  takes  working  papers 
is  only  in  the  6B  Grade  !4 

In  the  high  schools  there  were  in  1911-1912  a  total 
enrollment  of  56,788  boys  and  girls.  Of  these,  3,530 

1  Fourteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  City  Superintendent 
of  Schools,    pp.  62. 
2Ibid:   pp.  147. 
8  Ibid :   pp.  240. 
4  Report  of  the  Vocational  Guidance  Survey.    July,  1912. 


30    THE  EDUCATION  OF  CITY  GIRLS 

were  graduated.1  The  girls  numbered  2,285  and  the 
boys,  1,245.  Comparing  the  number  graduating  with 
the  number  entering  high  school — 22,773 — we  find 
that  1 5/4%  only  will  complete  the  high  school  course.2 

It  is  apparent,  then,  from  the  above  statistics,  that 
the  drop  in  school  attendance  at  fourteen  is  enormous, 
we  find  that  three-fifths  of  our  employment  certificate 
boys  and  girls  are  under  graduates,  and  that  the  ma- 
jority of  these,  probably  three-fourths,  have  not  com- 
pleted the  seventh  year.  Further,  of  the  entire  school 
population,  less  than  one-half  of  one  per  cent,  will 
become  high  school  graduates. 

What  are  the  causes  for  this  exodus  from  our  schools  ? 
Possibly  first  to  be  mentioned  as  a  contributing  cause 
is  "economic  pressure."  This  cry  has  been  ably 
answered  by  the  report  of  the  Vocational  Guidance 
Survey.  To  the  surprise  of  many  who  while  interested 
in  this  problem  have  not  made  a  study  of  it,  it  was 
found  that  only  20%  of  the  327  children  studied, 
were  obliged  to  leave  school  on  account  of  economic 
pressure.3  In  practically  every  case  the  earnings  of  the 
child  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  years  do  not  even  pay 
for  his  own  expenses  and  are  so  slight  an  addition  to 
the  family  budget  that  except  in  rare  cases  they  could 
be  spared.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  from 
a  psychological  standpoint,  whether  there  is  real  need 
or  not,  the  mischief  is  done  as  soon  as  the  parent  is 
convinced  of  the  need  and  that  it  would  be  at  least  in 
many  cases  difficult  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  the 


1  Fourteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  City  Superintendent 
of  Schools:  p.  147;    148. 

2  Ibid :   p.  148. 

3  Report  of  the  Vocational  Guidance  Survey.    July,  1912. 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  CITY  GIRLS    31 


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32    THE  EDUCATION  OF  CITY  GIRLS 

parents  should  we  at  present  compel  the  child  to  re- 
main in  school  until  sixteen  years  of  age. 

I  would  mention  as  a  second  factor  a  certain  lack  of 
interest  by  both  parents  and  children  in  educational 
matters.  The  present  system  of  education  does  not 
hold  the  child  nor  the  parent.  "The  most  striking 
thing  in  the  attitude  of  the  parents  and  children  toward 
the  school  is  their  apathy.  More  than  two-thirds  of 
the  children  and  more  than  three-fourths  of  the  parents 
had  no  conviction  that  it  was  worth  while  to  spend 
more  time  in  school.  To  parents  whose  whole  life  is 
encompassed  by  steady  daily  toil,  school  often  seems  a 
thing  apart,  outside;  it  was  not  a  basic  necessity  of 
their  lives."1 

Far  more  important  than  the  so-called  economic 
pressure  that  seems  to  force  our  young  people  into  in- 
dustry at  this  early  age,  or  the  apathy  shown  toward 
school,  is  a  third  factor,  namely,  that  restlessness  and 
discontent,  that  eager  reaching  out  after  new  experi- 
ences, that  desire  for  life  in  its  most  vital  sense,  with 
which  this  adolescent  age  is  so  replete.  The  school- 
room is  the  house  of  bondage,  the  world  of  industry 
is  that  promised  land  where  ever-new  wonders  will  be 
found;  somehow  the  girl  manages  to  secure  her  em- 
ployment certificate  and  fares  eagerly  forth  into  the 
new  and  unknown  world.  And  many  feel  that  this 
new  experience  gives  an  education  to  the  girl  superior 
to  that  given  by  the  schools;  not  that  conditions  are 
better  but  that  the  view-point  of  the  girl  is  changed. 

In  industry  certain  habits  are  instilled  that  the 
school  signally  fails  to  give  the  girl.  She  may  be  late 

1  Report    of    the    Vocational    Guidance    Survey.      July, 

IQI2. 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  CITY  GIRLS    33 

to  school  or  even  play  truant  if  care  is  taken  to  avoid 
the  officer;  but  let  her  be  late  at  her  work  and  she 
feels  the  loss  in  a  material  way.  She  realises  at  last 
that  "time  is  money,"  that  she  must  "stick  to  her  job," 
that  absences  must  be  reduced  to  a  minimum  and  that 
"tending  to  business"  is  the  first  requisite  to  getting  on 
in  the  wrorld.  She  learns  the  lesson  in  a  hard  school, 
it  is  true.  No  one  cares  why  she  is  late  or  absent;  it 
matters  very  little  to  the  foreman  why  her  work  is  not 
done  as  well  or  as  rapidly  as  that  of  the  girl  next  to 
her;  if  she  cannot  come  up  to  a  certain  standard,  she 
can  go;  there  are  others  to  take  her  place.  And  in 
spite  of  the  many  misfits  and  many  cases  where  the  girl 
has  a  dozen  jobs  in  as  many  months,  it  is  noteworthy 
that  most  of  our  young  people  take  the  industrial  life 
seriously  and  feel  anxious  indeed  if  they  are  out  of 
work. 

I  remember  well  a  boy  who  said  gravely  that  he 
would  take  anything  rather  than  be  idle.  "It  ain't 
good  for  a  fellow  to  lie  around,"  he  went  on,  "You 
get  used  to  it  too  easy."  And  one  successful  worker 
among  girls  has  made  the  statement  that  nothing  so 
quickly  arouses  her  anxiety  from  a  moral  standpoint 
as  having  a  girl  change  "jobs"  often. 

Moreover,  the  importance  the  girl  feels  at  becom- 
ing a  wage-earner,  the  new  respect  with  which  she  is 
treated  by  her  parents  and  neighbors,  together  with 
the  entrance  into  a  life  where  she  is  no  longer  merely 
a  school  girl  but  an  actual  factor  in  the  economic  world, 
all  tend  to  give  her  a  sense  of  independence ;  and  while 
this  may  and  often  does  show  itself  in  a  certain  arro- 
gance and  over-confident  spirit,  the  effect  upon  her 
character  is  on  the  whole  good. 


CONSTRUCTIVE  ELEMENTS  IN 
EDUCATION 

THE  question  naturally  arises  how  these  condi- 
tions may  be  met  and  overcome.    Is  it  possible 
to  disabuse  the  minds  of  the  parents  of  this 
idea  "economic  pressure"?    Can  we  in  any  way  arouse 
them  from  their  apathy?    With  the  addition  of  more 
trade  schools  and  a  better  adaptation  of  our  schools  to 
the  needs  of  the  girl,  can  we  hope  to  tide  over  this 
restlessness  of  adolescence  and  convince  the  girl  that 
she  really  wishes  to  remain  in  school  ? 

Our  first  impulse  is  to  feel  that  trade  education  is 
the  necessary  and  immediate  requirement.  The  1,871 
who  are  in  the  public  trade  schools  as  against  the  40,000 
who  have  secured  their  working  papers  would  almost 
force  one  to  the  opinion  that  the  trade  schools  are  the 
only  solution.  Surely  the  army  entering  this  "new  ex- 
perience" each  year  is  hardly  prepared  for  industry!  It 
is  true  that  new  trade  schools  should  be  opened.  The 
number  of  girls  in  skilled  trades,  such  as  the  sewing 
and  operating  trades,  certainly  points  to  the  necessity 
of  more  schools.  The  Manhattan  Trade  School,1 
formerly  under  private  management  but  taken  over 
by  the  city  in  September,  1910,  has  demonstrated 
clearly  the  wisdom  of  such  work.  In  1911-1912  the 
enrollment  was  1,050,  188  completing  the  course  while 
435  were  forced  to  leave  before  finishing  the  course. 

1  Fourteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  City  Sup't  of  Schools. 
Report  on  the  Manhattan  Trade  School:  pp.  341-353. 

34 


CONSTRUCTIVE  ELEMENTS  35 

The  fact  that  the  work  is  not  compulsory  makes  for  a 
constant  shifting  among  the  pupils.  And  yet  this  very 
influence  against  continuous  and  steady  attendance 
works  out  to  the  advantage  of  the  girl  herself.  There 
are  four  trades  taught:  dressmaking,  millinery,  ma- 
chine operating,  and  novelty  work.  The  first  two 
may  be  termed  highly  skilled  trades;  the  operating  is 
hardly  so  highly  skilled  while  there  are  features  in  the 
novelty  work  such  as  sample  mounting  that  may  be 
regarded  as  unskilled  labor.  A  girl  may  try  all  four 
trades;  it  will  be  only  a  matter  of  time  before  she 
finds  her  proper  level.  If  in  the  highly  skilled  trades, 
she  will  doubtless  finish  the  Manhattan  Trade  School 
course  and  be  placed  in  an  excellent  position.  If  she 
finds,  however,  that  she  will  never  become  a  skilled 
worker,  the  school  through  the  Placement  Department 
will  doubtless  be  able  to  place  her  in  a  congenial  po- 
sition. This  "trying  out"  process  is  a  most  necessary 
part  of  the  industrial  life;  in  a  school  such  as  the 
Manhattan  Trade  School  it  can  be  done  under  the  best 
conditions  and  with  the  sympathetic  help  of  trained 
women,  a  most  vital  improvement  upon  the  usual 
method  of  giving  up  job  after  job  until  one  is  found 
that  "fits."  In  the  latest  report  on  the  Manhattan 
Trade  School,  Miss  Marshall,  the  principal,  speaks  of 
the  value  of  the  complete  course.  Graduates  have  no 
difficulty  in  finding  positions  in  the  skilled  trades  for 
which  they  are  trained  and  the  average  wage  at  the 
start  is  $5.07.  The  incompletely  trained  girl  on  the 
other  hand  rarely  enters  the  skilled  trades,  receives  at 
the  start  only  $3.89  and  shows  a  constant  fluctuation 
form  job  to  job.1 


:    341-553- 


36  CONSTRUCTIVE  ELEMENTS 

But  while  this  trade  education  is  necessary  for  a 
certain  portion  of  our  girl  workers,  it  is  not  at  present 
possible,  however  desirable,  for  the  great  majority  who 
at  fourteen  enter  industry.  In  this  question  of  trade 
training,  certain  facts  must  be  kept  in  mind.  First  and 
foremost,  must  be  taken  into  account  the  fundamental 
difference  in  trade  education  for  boys  and  girls.  For 
the  boy  this  trade  education  is  most  necessary.  His  en- 
tire future  depends  absolutely  on  just  how  skilled  he 
may  become  in  some  one  line  of  work.  And  this  very 
success  will  bring  to  him  what  he  desires;  means  of 
support  for  wife  and  children,  the  power  to  have  a 
home,  to  enjoy  the  goods  of  life,  to  pay  insurance  dues 
and  club  and  union  dues,  to  become  a  power  in  his 
community, — all  these  natural  desires  urge  the  lad  on 
to  the  acquisition  of  a  good  trade. 

The  girl  on  the  other  hand  has  few  of  these  in- 
centives. "Woman  has  entered  industry  half-heart- 
edly. She  is  not  work-conscious  as  she  is  home-con- 
scious. The  old  home  tradition  remains  with  her  a 
powerful  sentiment.  Her  interest  is  the  home.  She 
expects  to  return  to  a  home  life  of  her  own.  Indus- 
trial work  is  a  mere  interlude.  It  is  this  work  inter- 
lude that  is  so  fraught  with  danger  from  the  very  fact 
that  it  is  a  makeshift.  It  is  still  unrelated  to  the  deep- 
est conscious  or  unconscious  purpose  of  the  girl."1 
However  greatly  she  may  enjoy  her  work  at  heart  she 
expects  to  become  a  wife  and  mother  and  she  recognizes 
that  a  trade  education  is  not  for  her  as  for  the  boy  a 
fundamental  necessity. 


1  Proceedings  of  the  Academy  of  Political  Science: 
Volume  on  Woman's  Work,  Mrs.  Simkhovitch,  V.  G.  A 
New  Social  Adjustment,  pp.  83. 


CONSTRUCTIVE  ELEMENTS  37 

Many  other  solutions  to  the  problem  are  suggested. 
Some  advocate  raising  the  school  age  to  sixteen, 
while  others  feeling  this  unwise,  believe  that  it  is  pos- 
sible so  to  change  the  present  curriculum  that  the  child 
will  voluntarily  remain  in  school.  One  of  New  York's 
most  prominent  workers  suggests  that  the  age  of  gradu- 
ation be  raised  to  approximate  with  the  sixteenth  year 
thus  acting  as  an  incentive  to  those  who  care  for  the 
elementary  diploma.  And  another  group  feel  that  some 
such  system  of  continuation  schools  as  obtain  in  Ger- 
many will  best  solve  the  problem.  In  Munich,  how- 
ever, the  continuation  schools  for  girls  have  proved  the 
least  successful  part  of  the  undertaking  and  it  is  well 
to  call  to  mind  here  the  girls'  point  of  view  as  op- 
posed to  that  of  the  boy.  The  curriculum  of  the  year 
corresponding  to  our  eighth  year  in  the  Munich  schools 
is  significant. 

"Religion,  2  hours  weekly;  household  management 
and  cookery,  8  hours;  needle-work,  such  as  is  needed 
in  the  household,  4  hours;  German,  in  business  cor- 
respondence, moral  and  ethical  training,  reading  les- 
sons, including  domestic  subjects,  hygiene  and  Ger- 
man and  family  life,  6  hours;  Arithmetic,  manage- 
ment of  domestic  accounts,  elements  of  commercial 
arithmetic,  cost  of  living  and  the  maintenance  of  the 
home,  4  hours;  gymnasium  and  singing."1 

If  our  elementary  schools  offered  some  such  course, 
modified  to  suit  the  needs  of  the  American  girl,  we 
should  have  more  satisfactory  results.  And  in  ad- 
dition, scholarships  might  be  offered  to  those  showing 


1  Proceedings  of  the  Academy  of  Political  Science : 
Vol.  on  Woman's  Work.  Woolman,  M.  S.  Training  the 
Youngest  Girls  for  Wage-Earning;  pp.  145. 


38  CONSTRUCTIVE  ELEMENTS 

marked  ability  in  any  skilled  trade  or  in  the  case  of 
children  who  are  in  need  of  further  education.  The 
Henry  Street  Settlement  has  worked  out  this  idea  in 
a  most  successful  way.  The  scholarship  fund  is  de- 
voted to  the  use  of  those  who  may  legally  go  to  work 
and  whose  parents  cannot  afford  to  give  them  a  higher 
education.  About  fifty  girls  are  at  present  receiving 
these  scholarships,  an  average  of  three  dollars  a  week 
each  being  given  them.  One  girl,  receiving  only  a 
small  wage  in  a  little  east-side  shop,  with  no  chance 
of  advance,  was  given  an  opportunity  to  study  design- 
ing and  art.  She  is  now  in  the  employ  of  a  large  house 
and  has  already  been  sent  to  Paris  as  a  buyer. 

The  suggestion  has  also  been  made  that  the  last  two 
years  of  the  elementary  course  be  given  over  to  trade 
education.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that 
what  we  have  to  consider  is  not  "industrial  training  for 
the  masses  but  training  for  the  industrial  masses"  and 
that  this  training  in  the  elementary  schools  at  least 
must  be  of  a  liberal  rather  than  an  industrial  type. 
Possibly  in  our  effort  to  readjust  education  to  existing 
conditions,  we  are  leaning  too  much  towards  the  in- 
dustrial aspect  in  our  schools.  Not  that  we  do  not 
need  manual  training  and  domestic  science  and  art. 
We  need  more  of  these  rather  than  less.  But  this 
hand  work  should  be  linked  in  a  very  definite  way  with 
brain  work.  It  is  far  more  necessary  that  the  child 
should  be  taught  certain  habits  rather  than  certain 
processes.  Efficiency  has  to  do  with  habit,  not  proc- 
ess. Teaching  a  child  to  make  a  box  or  a  shirtwaist 
under  supervision  may  make  of  her  a  very  efficient 
machine  but  she  ought  to  be  an  efficient  human  being. 
The  manual  work  in  the  broadest  sense  is  valuable 
only  when  the  mind  is  so  awakened  that  efficiency  will 


CONSTRUCTIVE  ELEMENTS  39 

be  sought  in  every  act  of  life.  If  we  can  arouse  without 
undue  self-consciousness  the  mind  of  the  child  so  that 
she  will  be  able  to  look  squarely  in  the  face  her  own 
powers  of  efficiency — or  inefficiency — we  shall  have 
gone  far  towards  making  this  a  nation  of  efficient 
workers. 

Many  educators  are  putting  much  time  on  this 
question  of  readjustment.  Studies  are  being  made  by 
skilled  workers  and  the  new  Vocational  Education  Sur- 
vey, which  has  grown  out  of  the  Vocational  Guidance 
Survey  will  take  as  its  work  the  collection  of  "data 
about  actual  industrial  conditions  for  the  use  of  the 
schools  in  working  out  types  of  industrial  training."1 

The  signs  of  the  times  show  in  the  High  School 
work  as  well  as  in  the  elementary  schools.  The  Aid 
Committee  of  the  High  School  Teachers'  Association 
publishes  contributions  on  the  subject  and  a  constant 
readjustment  of  curriculum  is  made.  The  Washing- 
ton Irving  High  School  trains  directly  for  the  home. 
In  the  Wadleigh  High  School  a  course  is  given  under 
the  title  of  Social  Science.  Trie  course  deals  with  three 
main  topics:  Self-study  with  the  sub-headings  Self- 
analysis,  Formation  of  Ideals  and  Self-development; 
Vocation  Study  which  deals  with  the  description  of  oc- 
cupations, the  choice  of  a  trade  and  the  preparation  for 
industrial  life;  and  finally  City-Study  dealing  with 
present  conditions,  with  ideal  conditions  and  the  best 
methods  of  developing  these  conditions.  The  Horace 
Mann  School  gives  an  interesting  course  called  Prac- 
tical Arts.  It  comprises  a  study  of  dress,  of  the  art  of 

1  Fourteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  City  Sup't  of 
Schools:  Report  of  the  Vocational  Guidance  Survey. 
PP.  397- 


40  CONSTRUCTIVE  ELEMENTS 

house-keeping  and  home-making,  a  lecture  course  on 
personal  and  family  hygiene  including  sex-hygiene,  and 
a  study  of  present  social  conditions. 

In  the  high  schools  throughout  the  city  the  regular 
course  is  most  popular  and  what  might  be  termed  the 
high  school  studies  are  the  ones  on  which  the  greatest 
stress  is  laid.  The  signs  of  the  times  show  here,  how- 
ever, in  a  course  in  biology  including  the  study  of  the 
functions  of  plants,  animals  and  man.  This  course  is 
now  taught  in  every  high  school  and  the  emphasis  is 
gradually  shifting  from  the  structure  of  the  various 
forms  to  their  physiological  functions — as  digestion, 
respiration,  reproduction,  etc., — and  further  to  the 
relation  of  this  subject  to  the  well-fare  of  man.1  Here, 
if  anywhere,  might  the  necessary  instruction  in  matters 
pertaining  to  sex  be  introduced. 

This  whole  question  of  teaching  matters  pertaining 
to  sex  is  a  serious  one.  The  method  suggested  above 
is  logical  and  possible  in  the  future.  The  reticence  of 
the  past  has  been  so  strong,  however,  and  the  interest 
of  the  present  so  new  and  so  intense  that  it  is  doubtless 
not  wise  to  advocate  immediate  teaching  in  the  schools. 
This  attitude  is  all  the  more  to  be  emphasized  in  that 
many  of  the  teachers  still  hold  the  old-fashioned  point 
of  view.  The  three  teachers  who  were  observed 
stuffing  their  ears  with  cotton  preceding  a  sex-hygiene 
lecture  they  were  forced  to  attend,  belong  to  a  group 
who  very  honestly  feel  that  their  point  of  view  is  right. 
But  the  teacher  who  said  in  an  awed  and  indignant 
whisper  after  hearing  a  series  of  lectures  that  the  morals 
in  their  school  had  suddenly  become  "too  shocking  for 

1  Thirteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  City  Superintendent 
of  Schools:  pp.  112. 


CONSTRUCTIVE  ELEMENTS  41 

words"  rather  convinces  one  by  her  attitude  that  these 
lectures  that  open  the  eyes  of  the  teachers  to  actual  con- 
ditions have  their  place.  The  crying  need  is  for  com- 
pulsory education  along  these  lines  for  every  man  and 
woman  who  teaches  our  youth  and  no  effort  should  be 
spared  to  induce  every  normal  school  to  plan  some 
course  on  this  most  important  matter.  And  not  until 
the  majority  of  the  teachers  have  the  right  point  of 
view,  should  it  be  introduced  into  the  schools. 

But  this  frank  dealing  with  facts  will  not  solve  the 
problem.  Knowledge  alone  does  not  save,  and  if  this 
instruction  in  matters  pertaining  to  race  instinct  is  not 
related  vitally  to  the  most  elevating  ideals,  the  benefit 
derived  therefrom  will  be  less  than  we  expect.  In  this 
field  the  home,  the  church  and  the  settlement  must 
take  the  lead.  As  yet  the  home  takes  practically  no 
responsibility;  of  the  82  Protestant  churches  who  as- 
sisted in  this  study,  only  12  were  making  any  attempt 
to  teach  "sex-hygiene"  and  only  27  felt  that  such  effort 
was  wise.  The  influence  of  the  settlement  has  been  along 
constructive  lines.  In  the  year  1911-1912  fifteen  settle- 
ments furnished  lectures  for  their  girls  and  women  on 
this  subject;  this  last  winter  there  is  hardly  a  settle- 
ment that  has  not  tried  the  experiment  of  at  least  one 
course  of  lectures.  The  results  have  been  surprisingly 
good.  As  far  as  could  be  ascertained,  in  only  two  cases 
did  it  seem  unfortunately  true  that  the  girls  took  the 
instruction  in  a  wrong  way  or  placed  a  vulgar  inter- 
pretation upon  it.  The  mothers,  who  in  the  majority 
of  cases  were  consulted  before  the  lectures,  were  glad 
to  shift  the  responsibility  that  weighed  upon  them  and 
indeed  in  many  cases  came  gladly  to  lectures  them- 
selves. And  the  many  remarks  of  the  girls  on  the  sub- 


42  CONSTRUCTIVE  ELEMENTS 

ject  easily  convinced  the  club  leaders  that  the  step  had 
been  a  wise  one. 

A  few  cautions  on  this  topic  should  be  mentioned. 
On  no  account  should  any  one  girl  hear  more  than  one 
series  of  lectures.  When  once  the  facts  are  known  and 
the  right  attitude  of  mind  gained,  there  is  no  need  of 
further  discussion.  During  this  period  of  adolescence 
personal  talks  are  often  more  productive  of  good  re- 
sults than  lectures  to  a  group;  but  when  this  is  im- 
possible the  group  should  be  approximately  of  the  same 
age  and  of  girls  who  are  friends ;  and  the  talks  should 
be  friendly  and  natural.  Finally  the  information  given 
should  be  quite  definite.  Things  must  be  called  by  their 
right  names;  questions  must  be  answered  with  the  ut- 
most frankness;  nothing  that  the  girl  wishes  to  know 
should  be  withheld.  The  two  great  objects  are  to 
satisfy  her  curiosity  and  her  very  legitimate  thirst  for 
knowledge  as  to  the  facts  of  life,  and  then  to  give  these 
facts  which  to  her  are  often  sordid  and  vile  so  delicate 
and  beautiful  a  setting  that  they  will  take  on  a  new 
meaning  and  life  will  become  a  holy  thing. 

The  settlements  have  been  in  the  advance  guard 
of  all  industrial  and  educational  work.  The  old 
cooking  class  has  been  in  many  cases  superseded  by 
"supper-clubs"  where  the  girls  learn  not  only  cooking 
but  buying  as  well.  And  the  fun  is  enhanced  when  the 
boys  are  invited  to  partake  of  a  meal. 

Sewing  is  not  so  popular  as  cooking.  We  find,  how- 
ever, successful  classes  here  and  there.  One  club  was 
held  together  an  entire  winter  by  the  carrying  out  of 
the  suggestion  that  each  girl  fill  a  "chest"  in  the  good 
old-fashioned  way.  Shirtwaist  classes  are  popular  and 
a  "trimming  hats"  class  is  always  in  demand.  The 
tendency  at  present  is  away  from  the  stereotyped  class 


CONSTRUCTIVE  ELEMENTS          43 

of  a  few  years  ago  to  a  well  rounded  out  course  in 
home-making.  Efforts  are  being  made  to  develop  the 
girl's  taste  alone  asthetic  lines.  Sometimes  the  girls  arc 
allowed  to  furnish  a  new  flat.  Talks  by  experts  in 
artistic  furnishing  are  always  inspiring  and  the  girls 
are  amazed  and  delighted  to  find  that  simple  artistic 
effects  are  within  the  reach  of  everyone. 

Again,  the  interest  aroused  of  late  years  in  the  old- 
world  industries  which  many  of  our  immigrants  drop 
upon  entering  the  new  world  will  tend  to  bring  into 
prominence  new  lines  of  work  for  women.  The 
classes  in  stencilling,  brass  work,  basketry,  etc.,  are 
popular.  And  the  many  lines  of  co-operation  between 
settlement  and  school  tend  to  keep  each  in  intimate 
touch  with  the  ideals  and  work  of  the  other  to  the 
great  advantage  of  both.  Classes  in  civics,  in  city 
planning,  in  industrial  conditions  and  laws,  should  be 
further  developed.  If  woman  is  to  take  her  share  of 
the  world's  burden,  she  must  learn  to  know  conditions 
and  the  means  of  bettering  them  and  a  course  such  as 
this  could  easily  be  adapted  to  girls  of  the  adolescent 
age. 

Settlements,  churches,  organizations  of  every  type, 
the  school-men,  educators,  factory  owners,  "cap tains 
of  industry," — yes,  even  the  boys  and  girls  themselves 
by  their  very  restlessness  and  impatience,  are  working 
for  a  solution  of  this  problem  of  how  best  to  educate 
our  youth;  and  this  tremendous  interest  in  the  topic 
of  education  points  to  a  speedy  readjustment  along 
these  lines. 


VI     . 
THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION 

I  HAVE  said  that  on  the  whole  the  effect  of 
industrial  life  on  the  girl  is  good.  Such  a  state- 
ment needs  qualifying.  It  is  good  in  many  cases; 
it  would  be  good  in  every  case  were  the  conditions 
under  which  she  works  what  they  ought  to  be.  Work 
hurts  no  one ;  it  is  overwork  with  the  poison  of  fatigue 
in  one's  system  that  harms;  it  is  work  under  unsani- 
tary conditions  and  in  industries  where  the  industry 
itself  is  harmful  that  evil  causes  results;  it  is  the  long 
hours  of  standing  that  continue  throughout  the  month 
with  no  regard  to  what  the  girl's  physical  condition 
may  be  that  ruin  health;  it  is  the  whole  accumulative 
effect  of  unsanitary  lodgings  and  unwholesome  food, 
of  overcrowding  in  the  homes,  of  overwork  and  over- 
strain in  the  working  hours  under  unhealthy  conditions 
and  in  harmful  trades,  that  so  vitally  injures  these 
potential  mothers  of  the  race  and  damns  to  degeneracy 
and  early  death  the  little  children  of  our  crowded  city 
streets. 

There  are  approximately  375,000  boys  and  girls  in 
Greater  New  York  between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and 
eighteen  years.  The  number  in  school  is  probably 
about  150,000;  100,000  in  the  public  schools  and 
50,000  in  other  schools.  The  Permanent  Census 
Board  was  able  to  locate  in  industry  only  66,620  boys 
and  65,352  girls,  a  total  of  nearly  132,000  engaged  in 
industrial  pursuits.  Of  the  90,000  odd  unaccounted 
for,  there  is  little  question  that  30,000  to  40,000  are 
at  work  and  some  i 6,000  to  20,000  between  14  and  16 
years  are  doubtless  working  illegally. 

44 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION        45 

This  army  of  young  people  that  enter  industry  at 
fourteen  are — must  be,  from  the  very  nature  of 
things, — unskilled  workers.  Driven  to  work  either  by 
economic  pressure,  by  the  exploitation  by  the  parents, 
or  because  the  school,  not  answering  to  their  need,  has 
become  irksome,  they  make  their  way  into  factory 
and  store  and  office,  hoping  in  this  new  environment 
to  find  what  they  have  instinctively  missed  in  the  old. 
And  the  tragedy  of  these  young  things  does  not  end 
here.  "Do  you  think  we  marry  because  we  love?" 
said  one  worker  in  her  broken  English.  "We  marry 
because  we  are  tired — tired  and  we  hope  to  escape  from 
work." 

By  consulting  the  chart  and  table  showing  the  occu- 
pations of  girls  between  fourteen  and  sixteen  years  and 
sixteen  and  eighteen  years  of  age  in  New  York  City,1  a 
general  view  of  the  situation  may  be  gained.2  The 
Manufacturing  and  Mechanical  Pursuits  from  the 
largest  group,  numbering  20,716  girls  or  1^/2%  of  the 
total  number  (117,479).  Here  are  found  the  3,600 
machine  operators,  the  dressmakers  and-  seamstresses 
numbering  together  over  3,600,  the  shirt  and  waist 
makers,  the  1,400  milliners,  the  1,600  feather  workers, 
those  in  the  tobacco  factories  and  the  workers  of  boxes, 
artificial  flowers,  book  binding,  etc. 

The  group  drawing  the  next  largest  number  is  that 
composed  of  those  engaged  in  Domestic  and  Personal 
Service.  Of  the  20,360  in  this  group,  over  18,000  or 
15^2%  of  the  whole  number  of  girls  between  fourteen 
and  eighteen  years  are  employed  in  housework. 


1  Quarterly    Publication    of    the    American     Statistical 
Ass'n :   The  Permanent  Census  Board  of  New  York  City ; 
September,  1912. 

2  See  Chart  II  and  Table  I. 


46        THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION 

Chart  II.     Occupations  of  New  York  City  Girls. 
TV*<Je  <and 


A.— Total:  66,139. 


Trade  and 

Tr  QMS  porferfion 


Ages:    14-16  years. 


B.— Total:    51,340. 


Ages:    16-18  years. 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION  47 

TABLE  I 
TABI,E  GIVING  OCCUPATIONS  OF  GIRLS  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY 

I.  Manufacturing  and  Mechanical  Pursuits. 

Occupations         14-16  yrs.  16-18  yrs.  Total 

Machine  operators   1,236  2,380  3,616 

Dressmakers    605  1,384  1,989 

Seamstresses    587  1,105  1,692 

Feathers 551  1,050  1,601 

Milliners    436  984  1,420 

Shirt  and  Waist  Makers  ...    421  919  1,340 

Boxmakers    435  642  1,077 

Garments 228  645  873 

Embroiderers   310  483  793 

Bookbinders   202  325  527 

Neckwear    114  349  463 

Artificial  Flowers    161  298  459 

Folders    173  207  380 

White  Goods   96  255  351 

Tobacco  workers   91  240  331 

Labelers   158  172  330 

Examiners    105  183  288 

Hats,  Caps  and  Bonnets  ...      92  158  250 

Confectioners  103  143  246 

Other   Occupations    1,073  !,6i7  2,690 

Total    7,177  13,539  20,716 

II.  Domestic  and  Personal  Service. 

Occupations         14-16  yrs.  16-18  yrs.  Total 

Housework   8,693  9,583  18,276 

Servants 273  362  635 

Hairdressers   and    Workers    163  468  631 

Laundry  Workers 127  216  343 

Nurse  Girls   185  no  295 

Waitresses    45  109  154 

Manicurists    3  23  26 


Total 


.9,489         10,871         20.360 


48        THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION 

III.  Trade  and  Transportation. 

Occupations         14-16  yrs.  16-18  yrs.  Total 
Stores : 

Packers  and  Wrappers    ...1,453  2,106  3,559 

Clerks   795  2,191  2,986 

Saleswomen    605  1,823  2,428 

Helpers,    577  793  1,370 

Stock  Girls  388  863  1,251 

Errand  Girls    661  561  1,222 

Cash  Girls,   407  231  638 

Messengers   156  79  235 

Other  Occupations  155  178  333 

Total    5,197  8,825  14,022 

III.  Trade  and  Transportation    (Continued). 

Occupations         14-16  yrs.  16-18  yrs.  Total 
Offices : 

Stenographers  and  Typists.    563  2,681  3,244 

Office    Girls 667  1,109  1,776 

Bookkeepers   222  1,142  1,364 

Telephone  Operators 223  844  1,067 

Cashiers   169  529  698 

Other  Occupations    28  48  76 

Total  1,872  6,353  8,225 


IV.  Professional    105  343  448 


V.  Other  Occupations    455  1,126  1,581 


Total    24,295          41,057         65,352 

This  statement  is  misleading,  however,  for  it  includes 
not  only  those  of  the  servant  class  but  also  those  who 
are  working  at  home  and  it  is  to  be  doubted  whether 
more  than  a  small  minority  of  the  18,000  are  in  do- 
mestic service.  In  the  returns  from  the  Settlements, 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION        49 

only  52  girls  are  scheduled  in  housework  while  172  are 
staying  at  home. 

The  third  group — Trade  and  Transportation — in- 
cludes the  3,244  stenographers;  bookkeepers  and  typ- 
ists cashiers  and  office  girls;  the  clerks  and  sales- 
women numbering  2,986  and  2,428  respectively,  the 
stock  girls,  cash  girls,  etc. 

The  professional  group  is  of  course  small,  numbering 
only  105  girls  between  fourteen  and  sixteen  years  and 
343  girls  between  sixteen  and  eighteen  years  of  age,  a 
total  of  448. 

The  comparison  of  A  and  B  in  Chart  II  for  girls 
between  fourteen  and  sixteen  and  girls  between  six- 
teen and  eighteen  years  is  extremely  interesting.  The 
number  in  school  drops  from  over  40,000  to  10,000, 
those  in  Domestic  and  Personal  Service  increase  only  a 
little  over  1,000,  while  the  increase  in  stores,  offices  and 
in  manufacturing  and  mechanical  pursuits  is  from 
3,000  to  6,000. 

A  study  of  the  Table  of  Occupations  will  also  reveal 
several  interesting  facts.  If  one  glances  over  the 
workers  between  fourteen  and  sixteen  years  of  age  and 
again  over  those  between  sixteen  and  eighteen  years, 
it  will  easily  be  seen  which  occupation  may  be  termed 
skilled  and  which  unskilled  labor.  Those  occupations 
may  in  the  broad  sense  be  termed  unskilled  where  no 
preparation  for  work  is  necessary — in  other  words, 
where  we  find  as  many  girls  between  fourteen  and 
sixteen  years  as  between  sixteen  and  eighteen.  Such 
trades  are  housework,  where  there  is  a  great  demand 
for  "green  help/'  cash  girls,  errand  girls,  helpers,  and 
to  a  lesser  extent  paper-box  makers,  book  binders, 
folders  and  labellers,  etc.  On  the  other  hand,  such 
occupations  as  stenography  and  bookkeeping  where  the 


50        THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION 

ratio  between  the  two  age  limits  is  more  than  one  to 
five,  and  such  occupations  as  machine  operating,  clerk- 
ing and  selling,  the  sewing  and  millinery  trades,  etc., 
where  the  ratio  is  one  to  three  or  one  to  two,  may  be 
regarded  as  skilled  labor.  It  is  evidently  along  these 
lines  that  trade  education  should  be  carried  on. 

The  Settlements  reach  a  total  of  about  3,800  girls 
between  fourteen  and  eighteen  years.  During  the  past 
year  30  settlements  sent  in  statistics  on  the  occupations 
of  girls  working  on  employment  certificates  and  also 
for  girls  between  sixteen  and  eighteen  years  of  age. 
A  comparison  of  A  and  B  in  Chart  III  shows  the  same 
decrease  in  school  attendance  that  is  shown  by  the  City 
Chart.  The  increase  in  manufacturing  and  mechanical 
pursuits  for  girls  over  sixteen  is  very  decided,  the  per- 
centage for  employment  certificate  girls  being  13.6% 
and  for  girls  between  sixteen  and  eighteen  34.5%. 
This,  as  well  as  the  school  attendance,  compares  well 
with  the  City  Chart.  Again  in  the  Settlement  Chart 
the  employment  of  the  two  sets  of  girls  in  offices  pre- 
sents a  great  contrast,  the  increase  being  from  9.4% 
to  32.6%.  The  percentage  in  stores  remains  the  same, 
singularly  enough,  while  the  older  girls  outnumber  the 
younger  girls  in  Domestic  Service  by  less  than  2%. 

Comparing  the  fourteen  to  sixteen-year-old  girl  in  the 
Settlements  with  the  same  aged  group  in  the  City,  we 
find  that  the  second  largest  group  in  the  City  Chart 
is  Domestic  and  Personal  Service  while  this  in  the 
Settlement  Chart,  is — excluding  Trade  Schools — the 
smallest  group.  In  the  City  Chart,  store  girls  out- 
number office  workers  in  the  Trade  and  Transporta- 
tion group  while  in  the  Settlement  chart  the  order  is 
reversed. 

Comparing  the  two  charts  for  the  older  girls,  we 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION        51 


Chart    III— Occupations   of    Girls    in    Thirty    New    York 
Settlements. 


A.— Total:    1,283. 


Ages :    14-16  years. 


B.— Total:    1,877. 


Ages :    16-18  years. 


32        THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION 

find  that  manufacturing  and  mercantile  pursuits  leads 
the  industries  in  both  cases  but  that  again  the  Domestic 
Service  group  in  the  City  Chart  constitutes  one  of  the 
largest  groups  while  on  the  Settlement  Chart  it  is  again 
the  smallest.  Stores  and  offices  are  again  reversed. 
It  would  seem,  then,  that  the  Settlements  are  reaching 
a  disproportionate  number  of  factory  and  office  girls 
while  only  a  small  number  of  store  girls  are  reached 
and  the  Domestic  Service  group  is  practically  not 
reached  at  all. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  and  practical  bits  of 
work  of  the  past  year  has  been  a  study  made  by  one  of 
the  largest  New  York  Settlements,1  of  the  industrial 
history  of  36  girls.  Of  the  36,  four  only  were  ele- 
mentary school  graduates  and  only  one  of  these  had 
entered  high  school.  Five  had  left  school  while  in  the 
eighth  grade,  16  while  in  the  seventh  year,  eight  in  the 
sixth  year  and  two  in  the  fifth  year.  The  majority — 
26 — left  school  at  14  while  two  left  at  thirteen.  Of 
the  latter,  however,  one  was  graduated  while  the  other 
had  reached  the  eighth  year ;  both  took  up  trades,  one 
working  at  dressmaking  at  the  Manhattan  Trade 
School  while  the  other  studied  stenography  and  dress- 
making at  a  business  school.  Both  have  remained  the 
greater  part  of  the  time  since  leaving  the  trade  school 
in  the  work  they  were  trained  for,  and  both,  beginning 
with  salaries  of  $5.00  a  week  are  now  getting  after 
two  and  three  years  at  work,  $8.00  and  $9.00  re- 
spectively. 

Twelve  of  these  girls  had  trade  training;  four  in 
bookkeeping,  stenography  and  typewriting,  four  in  mil- 
linery, two  in  stenography  and  millinery,  one  in  dress- 

i  The  Hudson  Guild. 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION        53 

making  and  one  in  novelty  work.  Of  the  four  study- 
ing bookkeeping  and  stenography,  not  one  is  making 
use  of  the  chosen  trade.  The  over-crowded  state  of 
this  trade  is  doubtless  responsible  for  this  although  it 
should  also  be  noted  that  these  girls  remained  too  short 
a  time  at  the  trade  schools  to  become  in  any  way  ex- 
pert at  this  line  of  work.  Of  the  four  in  millinery, 
one  staid  at  the  school  only  three  months,  two  remained 
one,  and  one  and  a  half  months;  the  fourth  girl  con- 
tinued her  training  for  a  year;  not  one  of  these  girls 
is  making  use  of  the  trade  learned.  Of  the  two  study- 
ing stenography  and  dressmaking,  one  is  the  little 
thirteen  year-old  mentioned  above.  The  other  re- 
mained at  school  less  than  a  year  and  is  making  no 
use  of  either  trade.  The  dressmaker  and  the  novelty 
worker,  both  studying  for  over  a  year  at  the  Man- 
hattan Trade  School,  are  succeeding  admirably  in  their 
chosen  lines.  It  seems  safe  to  conclude  that  trade  edu- 
cation is  of  little  value  unless  the  girl  remains  long 
enough  to  learn  her  trade  thoroughly.  A  few  months 
is  useless  and  no  better  for  the  girl  than  the  constant 
shift  in  position  which  is  so  well-known  a  characteris- 
tic of  the  young  worker.  This  shifting  from  "job  to 
job"  is  peculiarly  noticeable  among  this  group  of  girls. 
Fourteen  only  have  remained  in  the  same  line  of  work 
while  four,  five  and  six  changes  are  not  uncommon. 
Perhaps  the  best  illustration  of  this  is  one  girl  who 
has  served  as  a  cash  girl,  a  machine  operator,  a  packer 
and  a  boxmaker  within  the  space  of  three  years. 

Under  Trade  and  Transportation  we  have  nine 
trades  represented,  some  twenty-eight  girls  trying  their 
hands  at  these;  packing  is  the  most  popular,  while 
clerks,  cash-girls  and  stock-girls  come  next  in  number. 
In  Manufacturing  and  Mechanical  Pursuits,  we  find 


54        THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION 

thirteen  trades  represented,  boxmaking,  operating, 
and  dressmaking  being  in  the  majority.  The  wages 
are  low,  varying  from  $3.50  to  $10.00  and  $12.00. 
The  medium  wage  is  about  $6.00.  The  hours  of  work 
seem  to  be  within  the  fifty-four  hour  limit;  where 
over-time  is  required,  the  girls  are  paid. 

In  almost  every  case  the  position  was  obtained 
through  friends  or  by  the  girl  seeing  an  "ad,"  and  ap- 
plying for  the  position.  No  mention  is  made  of  an 
employment  bureau.  In  talking  with  social  workers 
on  this  point,  it  was  found  to  be  an  almost  universal 
custom  to  find  employment  through  friends  and  rela- 
tives or  through  advertisements.  The  Committee  on 
Woman's  Work  of  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation  found 
that  out  of  a  group  of  over  five  hundred  girls,  only  one 
per  cent,  had  found  work  through  an  employment 
bureau.  No  one  can  deny  that  this  is  a  wasteful 
method.  The  girl  must  try  and  try  again  until  she 
"fits."  Often  she  takes  a  position  in  a  store  or  factory 
where  conditions  are  unfavorable  to  her  development. 
She  knows  hardly  at  all  what  she  wants,  little  of  an 
adequate  wage,  nothing  of  industrial  conditions.  In 
some  way  this  element  of  chance  should  be  eliminated. 
Through  the  school  on  the  one  hand  that  should  guide 
the  child  to  a  fitting  vocation  and  the  employment 
bureau  or  like  organization  on  the  other  hand,  where 
adequate  information  may  be  found  of  conditions  ob- 
taining in  industry,  the  girl  must  be  placed  in  an  en- 
vironment that  will  best  develop  her,  physically,  men- 
tally and  morally. 

There  is  another  side  to  this  search  for  a  position 
that  needs  consideration.  Not  only  does  the  girl  waste 
her  time  and  energy  under  the  present  system ;  not  only 
is  she  exposed  to  the  dangers  of  employment  under 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION        55 

unsanitary  conditions  or  where  the  industry  itself  is 
harmful,  but  she  is  exposed  to  moral  dangers  as  well. 
One  young  girl  tells  the  following  story:  "  I'd  been 
out  of  work  a  long  time  and  I  just  had  to  find  work 
or  perhaps  I  wouldn't  have  gone  all  alone — anyhow 
I  saw  an  ad,  in  the  paper  asking  for  seamstresses  and 
you  know  my  trade  is  hand-sewing;  of  course  I  went. 
I  didn't  like  the  place  very  well.  It  was  just  an  ordi- 
nary house  and  when  they  let  me  in  there  wasn't  any 
noise  like  you  hear  when  there  is  work  going  on.  But 
they  told  me  to  go  upstairs  and  so  I  did  and  finally  on 
the  fourth  floor  was  an  open  door.  I  saw  a  man  in  the 
room  and  so  I  went  up  and  said,  'I  hear  you  want 
workers.'  He  turned  around  and  looked  at  me  and  then 
what  did  he  do  but  step  over  to  the  door  and  lock  it! 
I  was  so  frightened  I  most  screamed.  But  I  kept  say- 
ing *o  myself  'Keep  cool !  Keep  cool' !  And  I  went  on 
and  asked  him  about  the  work  and  everything.  And 
finally  I  said  I  guessed  I  could  do  it  and  he  smiled 
and  oh!  looked  at  me  and  said,  'All  right,  take  off 
your  things.'  'Oh,  no,'  said  I,  'I  can't  stay  now.  My 
mother,  she's  waiting  for  me  down  in  the  street  and 
she'll  be  getting  scared.  I've  got  to  go.'  (My  mother — 
she's  dead,  you  know.)  He  looked  at  me,  sort  of  queer 
and  said,  'Are  you  telling  the  truth?'  'And  why  should 
I  be  tellin'  a  lie?'  said  I,  kind  of  pert.  So  he  opened 
the  door  and  let  me  go.  I  tell  you,  I  take  some  one 
with  me  when  I  go  now." 


VII 
THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION 

(Continued) 

The  question  of  the  wage  has  been  for  some  time 
past  an  all-absorbing  one.  It  must  be  remembered, 
that  the  girl  of  fourteen,  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  of  age 
is  serving  her  apprenticeship  in  industry  and  can  hardly 
expect  to  be  self-supporting.  When  we  consider,  how- 
ever, the  low  wages  paid  in  general  for  women's  work, 
we  realise  to  some  extent  the  extremely  small  amount 
for  which  these  girls  give  their  time  and  strength. 

In  1910  one  of  the  working  girls'  clubs  at  St. 
George's  church  made  an  estimate  of  the  smallest  in- 
come possible  for  a  self-supporting  girl  in  New  York 
City.  The  estimate  decided  upon  was  JS.oo.1  This 
past  winter  many  girls'  clubs  were  asked  what  in  their 
opinion  was  a  living  wage.  Some  few  felt  that  it  was 
barely  possible  to  live  on  $8.00;  the  great  majority  felt 
$9.00  was  necessary  and,  as  one  girl  expressed  it,  "You 
can't  feel  easy  unless  you  have  $10.00."  In  the  investi- 
gation of  the  Bookbinding  Trade  the  average  wage  of 
H93  workers  interviewed  was  less  than  $8.00  and  only 
21%  were  receiving  $10.00  and  over.2  In  the  artificial 
flower  trade,  the  agents  of  the  U.  S.  government  copied 
in  the  busiest  season  of  the  year  of  1905  the  payrolls 
of  90  establishments  employing  1,845  women.  It  was 
found  that  over  half  were  earning  less  than  $6.00  and 

1  Clark  and  Wyatt :    Making  Both  Ends  Meet :   p.  8. 

2  Mary  VanKleeck :   Women  in  the  Bookbinding  Trade  : 
P.  75- 

56 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION        57 

slightly  more  than  one-fourth  earned  $8.00  or  more; 
only  ori£  in  sixteen  earned  $12.00  or  over.1 

Among  1,938  factory  workers  the  average  wage 
was  $6.34.  Among  391  women  employed  in  depart- 
ment stores,  the  average  wage  was  $6.07.  In  twelve 
of  the  largest  department  stores  in  New  York,  28% 
earned  under  $6.00;  and  the  average  age  for  all  re- 
ceiving $6.00  was  eighteen  years.2  In  a  study  made  the 
past  year  of  500  working  girls,  the  median  wage  is 
between  $7.00  and  $8.00  while  the  wage  of  a  girl 
between  fourteen  and  sixteen  years  is  between  $5.00 
and  $6.00.  Of  the  individual  records  handed  in  by  the 
Settlements  only  seventeen  girls  gave  their  wage.  Five 
received  $8.00  or  over,  a  good  wage  for  girls  between 
fourteen  and  eighteen  years.  One  received  $11.00  as 
a  stenographer  and  another,  a  bookkeeper,  received 
$16.00.  The  average  wage  of  the  seventeen  girls  was 
$7.00.  We  have  already  spoken  of  the  average  wage 
of  the  36  girls  at  Hudson  Guild  as  $6.00. 

It  seems  quite  evident,  then,  that  the  young  girl  can 
not  expect  a  living  wage  during  her  first  few  years  of 
work;  moreover,  the  statistics  quoted  above  prove  be- 
yond question  that  she  cannot  in  the  future  expect  a 
living  wage.  Small  wonder,  then,  that  the  enthusiasm 
and  interest  shown  by  the  fourteen  year  old  in  her 
work  dies  out  and  in  the  succeeding  years  the  girl  forms 
the  habit  of  giving  as  little  as  possible  for  the  low 
wages  she  receives. 

There  is  little  difference  in  trades  when  we  consider 
them  from  the  standpoint  of  wages.  Shops  and  fac- 

1  Russell    Sage    Foundation :     Committee   on    Woman's 
Work. 

2  Wage-earning  Women  and  Children :    Department  of 
I^abor:    Vol.  5:    pp.  141. 


58        THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION 

tories  pay  much  the  same  wage,  the  average  for  girls 
between  fourteen  and  eighteen  years  being  below  $6.00. 
Office  work,  bookkeeping,  stenography  and  the  more 
highly  skilled  trades  pay  better  in  the  end  but  there  is 
need  of  preparation.  In  these  latter  trades  it  is  inter- 
esting to  note  that  the  Jewish  girl  is  to  be  found  in  of- 
fice work  and  stenography  while  the  Italian  girl,  who 
likes  to  work  with  her  hands,  is  found  in  the  factories. 
In  the  Settlement  reports1  it  was  found  that  among 
girls  between  fourteen  and  sixteen  years  only  a  little 
over  5%  of  Jewish  girls  go  into  factory  work  while 
75%  are  in  public  and  trade  schools  and  nearly  10% 
are  in  offices.  The  Italian  report  on  the  other  hand, 
gives  only  48%  in  school,  40%  in  factory  work  and 
3%  and  i%  in  stores  and  offices  respectively.  We  find 
51%  of  the  American  girls  in  school,  27%  of  the 
Irish  and  43%  of  the  German.  The  German 
girls  give  the  highest  per  cent. — 27% — in  office 
work  while  the  Italians  are  the  lowest.  The  group  for 
the  girls  between  sixteen  and  eighteen  years  of  age 
is  even  more  interesting  in  that  it  shows  still  more  dis- 
tinctly the  tendency  of  certain  nationalities  toward 
certain  trades.  Nearly  20%  of  the  Jewish  girls  are 
still  in  schools,  public  and  trade;  nearly  16%  of  the 
German,  15%  of  the  Irish,  7j^%  of  the  American  and 
only  2%  of  the  Italian  have  remained  in  school.  In 
Manufacturing  and  Mechanical  Pursuits  we  find  the 
Italians  leading,  with  over  71%  while  the  American, 
Irish  and  German  follow  with  the  Jew  bringing 
up  the  rear  with  28%.  In  Trades  and  Transportation, 
the  store  girls  give  21^2%  American,  over  12%  Ger- 

1  See  Tables  showing  Occupation  in  Relation  to  Nation- 
ality.   Also  Chart  IV. 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION         59 

man,  nearly  g%  Irish,  only  6.5%  Jewish  and  one-half 
of  i  %  Italian.  Offices  on  the  other  hand,  give  the  larg- 
est percentage — 38% — among  the  Jewish  girls  while 
the  Irish,  American  and  German  follow  with  34%, 
28%  and  27%  respectively  and  the  Italian  girl  ends  the 
list  with  the  lowest  percentage — 14.5%.  The  national- 
ity drawing  the  largest  number  in  Domestic  Service  of 
the  younger  girls  is  American  while  the  Germans  have 
6%  of  their  girls  between  sixteen  and  eighteen  in  Do- 
mestic Service.  In  the  Settlement  groups  there  is  only 
one  Italian  found  in  housework  outside  her  own  home. 
The  Scandinavians  seem  to  be  the  only  people  who 
regard  domestic  service  with  favor.  It  pays  better 
wages,  to  be  sure,  but  the  long  hours  of  work,  the  lack 
of  companionship,  the  monotony  and  a  certain  social 
stigma  make  it  very  unpopular  among  the  girls.  In 
this  trade,  too,  is  found  a  greater  degree  of  immorality 
than  in  the  other  trades.1 

The  second  occupation  that  seems  fraught  with 
danger  to  young  girls  is  work  in  department  stores. 
Those  who  are  most  competent  to  judge  feel  that  in  no 
other  trade  is  the  girl  so  unprotected  and  so  exposed 
to  temptation.  The  influence  of  the  trade  itself  is  bad. 
The  express  purpose  of  a  shop  is  to  tempt  people  to 
spend  money  that  they  would  not  otherwise  have  spent. 
The  lavish  and  beautiful  display  of  goods  and  the  bar- 
gains offered  daily,  tempt  even  the  casual  passer-by; 
how  is  it  possible  for  the  girl  with  her  slight  powers  of 
resistence  lessened  immeasurably  by  all  she  sees  and 
hears,  to  turn  away  from  all  the  shop  offers!  More- 
over, the  girl  is  obliged  by  virtue  of  her  position  to 

1  Wage-Earning  Women  and  Children :  Department  of 
Labor:  Vol.  VII. 


60        THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION 


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THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION        61 


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62        THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION 

TABLE  II 

TABLE  SHOWING  OCCUPATION  IN  RELATION  TO  NATIONALITY 

OF  1,283  GIRLS  BETWEEN  FOURTEEN  AND  SIXTEEN  YEARS 

IN  THIRTY  SETTLEMENTS 


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17 

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6 

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Total 


.175    116    121    715    73    14    63      61,283 


TABLE  III 

TABLE  SHOWING  OCCUPATION  IN  RELATION  TO  NATIOALTTY 

OF  1,877  GIRLS  BETWEEN  SIXTEEN  AND  EIGHTEEN  YEARS 

IN  THIRTY  SETTLEMENTS 


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Others    .                      5 

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Total 


.649    176    612    243    43    38109      71,877 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION        63 

spend  far  more  in  dress  than  her  factory  sister.  The 
story  is  told  of  a  little  cashier  of  sixteen  years  who  on 
her  small  wage  was  just  able  to  support  an  invalid 
mother.  One  day  the  manager  of  the  store  said  to  her, 
"You  will  have  to  dress  better  if  you  stay  here.  Go 
to  the  suit  department  and  buy  a  suit."  She  told  him 
she  could  not  afford  it  but  was  finally  obliged  to  buy 
the  suit  or  lose  her  position.  She  bought  the  suit.  On 
the  next  pay-day  she  found  that  her  entire  wage  was 
stopped  until  the  suit  was  paid  for ! 

The  girls  are  often  exposed  to  moral  danger  as  well. 
And  not  only  to  danger  within  the  shop  but  the  cus- 
tomers themselves  find  in  the  freedom  of  the  right  of 
purchase,  an  opportunity  offered  in  no  other  trade. 
Travelling  men  who  are  dissolute  and  are  without  the 
restraint  of  public  opinion,  find  here  easy  victims  for 
their  lust ;  and  madames,  when  purchasing  goods,  make 
little  presents  to  the  girls  commiserating  with  them  on 
their  hard  lot  and  telling  them  that  they  themselves 
were  once  salesgirls.  On  every  side  the  girl  sees  the 
glamor  and  brightly-colored  side  of  vice;  seldom  she 
sees  the  horrible  results.  She  becomes  sophisticated 
and  is  often  persuaded  that  there  is  no  harm  in  im- 
morality if  one  is  not  found  out.  In  the  social  service 
work  at  Bellevue  Hospital,  many  unmarried  girls  who 
come  from  the  factories  or  domestic  service  are  found 
in  the  maternity  ward.  The  shop  girl  finds  her  way 
into  the  ward  for  venereal  disease. 

There  are  good  and  bad  factories  as  well  as  good 
and  bad  shops.  Offices  are  often  dangerous  if  only 
one  or  two  girls  are  employed.  But  neither  in  factory 
work  nor  in  offices  are  girls  so  openly  exposed  on  so 
many  sides  to  constant  danger  and  temptation  as  in 
department  stores;  and  the  general  opinion  of  social 


64        THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION 

workers  is  that  the  factory  is  the  safest  place  for  the 
girl. 

Our  records  do  not  show  one  of  the  greatest  evils 
of  women's  work,  the  seasonal  trade.  Those  who  have 
read  "Making  Both  Ends  Meet"  by  Miss  Wyatt  and 
Miss  Clark  will  be  impressed  by  the  reiteration  of  this 
evil.  "During  the  idle  time/*  "the  long  dull  season," 
"in  idle  times"  are  phrases  that  meet  one's  eye  on  every 
page.  "We  only  went  from  bed  to  work  and  from 
work  to  bed  again,"  one  of  the  girls  said.  "And  some- 
times if  we  sat  up  a  little  while  at  home,  we  were  so 
tired  we  could  not  speak  to  the  rest  and  we  hardly 
knew  what  they  were  talking  about.  And  still,  al- 
though there  was  nothing  for  us  but  machine  and  bed, 
we  could  not  earn  enough  to  take  care  of  ourselves 
through  the  slack  season."1 

Many  of  the  girls  try  to  supplement  their  own  trade 
with  another  that  will  dovetail  into  the  slack  season. 
One  girl  working  at  millinery — that  most  seasonal  of 
all  trades — was  bright  enough  to  see  that  the  sewing 
trade  overlapped  the  idle  months.  "So  I  applied  for  a 
position.  I  didn't  know  a  thing  about  the  work  but 
when  he  said,  'Do  you  know  how  to  sew?'  I  just  an- 
swered, 'Sure!  What  do  you  think?'  And  he  took  me 
and  now  I'm  busy  all  the  time  and  am  earning  good 
wages,  too." 

In  direct  contrast  to  these  idle  weeks  and  months, 
are  the  weeks  of  the  "busy  season"  when  "overtime"  is 
required.  "Overtime  means  something  more  than  an 
overlong  period  of  work.  It  means  irregular  work; 
it  means  evening  work  after  and  in  addition  to  day 
work,  often  without  previous  notice  to  the  employe; 

1  Clark  and  Wyatt :   Making  Both  Ends  Meet :   pp.  62-63. 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION        65 

it  means  in  many  trades  that  worse  consequence,  over- 
time followed  by  out-of-work,  a  'rush'  season  of  too 
much  work  with  a  slack  season  of  no  work  and  desti- 
tution close  behind  it.  *  *  *  On  the  physiological  side, 
we  have  seen  that  overtime,  like  other  forms  of  over- 
work, injures  health,  because  in  one  word,  it  strains. 
It  postpones  rest  beyond  the  point  when  rest  can  nor- 
mally accomplish  its  office  of  repair.  *  *  *  These  are 
what  overtime  work  invites  and  brings  with  it,  requir- 
ing during  overlong  hours  increasing  stimuli  for  wea- 
ried muscles  from  already  tried  nerve  centers.  *  *  *  It 
is  hardly  surprising  that  workers  should  come  to  work 
late  the  next  morning  after  evening  overtime,  and  that 
the  reaction  after  a  spurt  should  lead  to  'loafing'  and 
inferior  production  in  consequence."1 

And  to  these  evils  of  the  low  wage,  the  seasonal  trade 
and  overtime  work,  must  be  added  those  related  to 
the  long  hours  of  standing,  to  piece  work  and  to 
speeding. 

The  present  interest  in  scientific  management  to- 
gether with  motion  study  will  in  a  measure  relieve  this 
excessive  strain.  Little  by  little  the  interest  of  the 
girls  themselves  is  becoming  enlisted  and  where  this 
is  done  and  the  girl  co-operates  writh  her  employer,  a 
certain  element  of  understanding  on  both  sides  is 
brought  in  that  will  tend  to  better  conditions.  We 
have  spoken  of  the  difficulty  of  sustaining  the  girl's  in- 
terest in  any  work  in  cases  where  she  has  left  school 
at  fourteen  with  no  training  and  no  preference  as  to 
the  work  she  attempts.  The  older  girl  does  not  so 
surely  lose  this  interest,  while  trade  training  arouses  a 
certain  professional  pride.  "In  some  instances  a  knowl- 

1  Goldmark :    Fatigue  and  Efficiency ;    Part  I,  pp.  75-77. 


66        THE  INDUSTRIAL  SITUATION 

edge  of  the  manufacture  of  a  special  article  from  be- 
ginning to  end  has  seemed  to  increase  the  girl's  interest 
in  her  particular  part  of  the  work  even  when  this  work 
is  most  uninteresting  in  itself.  Anything  that  makes 
a  girl  feel  that  her  work  is  important  in  making  a  per- 
fect whole  will  increase  the  interest  in  a  purely  me- 
chanical task/'1 

Little  by  little  the  girl's  sympathy  for  her  working 
sister  is  arousing  all  working  girls  to  an  effort  to  better 
conditions.  The  most  vital  mark  of  this  is  seen  in  the 
tremendous  growth  of  the  unions  among  working  wom- 
en. This  new  consciousness  of  group  loyalty  is  so 
rapidly  awakening  that  it  is  quite  possible  the  girl  her- 
self may  solve  her  own  problem.  The  picturesque 
shirtwaist  strike  of  a  few  years  ago  was  a  small  affair 
compared  with  the  strike  during  the  winter  of  1912- 
1913  of  the  white  goods  workers  and  kindred  trades. 
And  the  fact  that  the  average  age  of  these  thousands 
of  workers  is  only  seventeen  years  adds  an  element  to 
the  struggle  well  worth  considering.  The  various 
organizations  working  to  better  conditions,  the  laws 
to  protect  the  industrial  class,  the  trend  of  public 
opinion,  all  promise  a  brighter  future ;  the  club  leader 
because  of  her  intimate  knowledge  of  the  girl,  has 
seized  the  opportunity  of  co-operating  in  a  most  vital 
way  with  these  organizations;  but  the  greatest  assets 
in  the  fight  are  the  girls  themselves,  and  it  is  only  in 
so  far  as  we  can  give  them  this  spirit  of  group  loyalty 
and  co-operation,  and  can  make  use  of  this  tremendous 
fund  of  youth  and  energy  and  optimism  and  enthusi- 
asm, that  we  can  hope  to  solve  this  most  difficult  of  all 
problems. 

1  Quoted  from  the  report  made  by  the  Hudson  Guild  on 
the  Industrial  History  of  Thirty-six  Girls. 


VIII 
THE  LOVE  OF  PLAY 

IN  the  foregoing  pages  we  have  tried  to  show  the 
actual    conditions   surrounding   the    girl    in    the 
home ;  we  have  pictured  the  industrial  life  of  the 
girl  and  have  to  some  extent  made  clear  the  problems 
that  are   arising  through   attempts  made  to   readjust 
present  educational  methods  to  her  new  position   in 
the  world.     It  remains  to  find  what  other  agencies 
bring   their  influence   to   bear  on   this   impressionable 
creature  and  to  judge,  in  so  far  as  we  are  able,  what  the 
effect  of  these  agencies  may  be. 

From  eight  in  the  morning  until  six  at  night  the 
girl  is  at  work.  Except  for  the  trip  to  and  from  home 
and  for  the  noon  hour,  her  time  belongs  to  her  em- 
ployer and  she  may  be  said  to  have  no  life  of  her  own. 
After  six  o'clock  and  on  Sunday  she  is  free.  Home 
duties  claim  her  for  a  portion  of  the  time  but  to  a 
great  extent  her  time  is  her  own  to  spend  as  she  her- 
self wishes.  What  does  she  do  in  this  leisure  time? 
To  what  agencies  does  she  turn  for  relaxation,  for  en- 
joyment and  inspiration  and  pleasure?  It  is  in  these 
hours  that  the  girl  may  best  be  judged.  What  a  man 
does  with  his  leisure  time  largely  determines  the  man. 
And  first  of  all,  after  the  long  wearisome  day  in 
factory  or  store,  there  arises  quite  legitimately  a  de- 
sire for  pleasure.  The  day  leaves  her  over-tired ;  her 
muscles  are  strained  with  the  tension  of  speeding  or 
the  worse  tension  of  standing.  Naturally  her  desire 
turns  to  that  form  of  amusement  where  every  muscle 
67 


68  THE  LOVE  OF  PLAY 

is  brought  into  action,  where  rhythm  and  harmony  and 
light  and  color  and  motion  unite  to  call  forth  the  very 
acme  of  all  that  stands  for  enjoyment  in  the  girl's  mind. 
And  this  is  dancing. 

There  are  480  dance  halls  in  Greater  New  York. 
This  includes  dancing  academies,  where  the  selling  of 
liquor  is  prohibited  by  law  ( there  are  between  sixty  and 
seventy  of  these  academies  in  Manhattan  alone),  the 
dance  halls  of  the  picnic  parks  (Queens  has  95  such 
parks),  and  every  description  of  dance  halls  from  the 
large  halls  accommodating  over  a  thousand  dancers  to 
the  hall  behind  the  saloon  where  only  a  few  of  the 
toughest  and  most  immoral  type  congregate.  Since  the 
agitation  of  recent  years,  nearly  seven  hundred  dance 
halls  have  been  investigated  and  brought  under  better 
control.  The  average  accommodation  of  these  halls  is 
some  200  and  this  means  that  every  night  and  Sunday, 
some  96,000  young  people  are  finding  amusement  in 
this  manner — a  total  for  the  week  of  over  670,000! 

A  few  years  ago,  a  most  interesting  investigation  of 
dance  halls  in  New  York  was  made.  The  investigator 
attended  the  dances  as  one  of  the  girls  and  quite  evi- 
dently gained  an  insight  impossible  to  obtain  from 
other  methods.  In  her  report  particular  stress  is  laid 
on  the  commercializing  of  pleasure — that  dance  halls 
thrive  by  their  vices  and  the  young  girls  are  the  vic- 


i 


tims. 

On  the  east  side  40  dance  halls  were  visited  and  here 
the  investigator  noted  the  extreme  youth  of  the  girls, 
hardly  one  being  over  twenty  years  and  many  only 
fourteen  and  fifteen  years  of  age.  Indeed,  a  statement 

1We  are  greatly  indebted  to  Miss  Julia  Schoenfeld  for 
this  information. 


THE  LOVE  OF  PLAY  69 

was  made  by  one  of  the  members  of  the  Dancing  Mas- 
ters' Association,  that  in  the  academies  where  dancing 
was  taught,  45%  of  the  girls  were  under  sixteen. 
The  girls  were  earning  $5.00  to  $7.00  a  week  and 
some  of  them  were  spending  from  5OC  to  a  dollar  on 
dancing.  Many  of  them  in  their  efforts  to  live  up  to 
their  standards,  refused,  after  leaving  the  hall,  to  speak 
to  the  men  with  whom  they  had  danced.  On  the  west 
side,  it  was  found  that  the  girls  were  older  and  more 
inclined  to  drink  although  there  was  less  of  this  than 
one  would  suppose.  But  even  in  these  halls  of  a  better 
class,  where  good  girls  go  and  make  poor  futile  efforts 
to  have  their  good  time  and  yet  remain  good,  the  danc- 
ing masters  themselves  told  the  investigator  that  it  was 
almost  impossible  for  any  girl  to  come  night  after  night 
and  remain  moral. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  these  halls  should  be  regu- 
lated by  law,  that  proper  sanitary  conditions  should  be 
enforced,  that  immoral  and  tough  dancing  should  be 
prohibited,  that  the  sale  of  liquor  should  be  so  regu- 
lated that  "soft"  and  "hard"  drinks  should  cost  ap- 
proximately the  same.  This  has  been  successful  in 
other  cities  and  it  is  only  the  indifference  of  public 
opinion  that  such  conditions  exist  here.  The  better 
class  of  commercial  dance  halls  is  greatly  to  be  desired. 
The  Dreamland  Dance  Halls  Company  runs  excellent 
dance  halls  in  other  cities.  Palisades  Park  in  New 
Jersey  has  succeeded  in  running  an  amusement  park 
with  a  dance  hall  above  reproach. 

Perhaps  the  most  difficult  evil  to  control  is  the  club 
dance  given  in  the  lower  class  casinos.  A  group  or 
club  of  young  men  will  rent  a  hall  and  sell  tickets  for 
a  dance.  Liquor  is  invariably  sold,  the  cost  of  renting 
the  hall  without  the  sale  of  liquor  being  prohibitive. 


70  THE  LOVE  OF  PLAY 

From  the  boys'  standpoint  this  dance  is  a  private  affair 
and  hence  supervision  is  difficult.  Tough  dancing  is 
allowed,  there  is  great  freedom  in  behavior  and  the 
immoral  woman  is  ever  present  to  "spot"  the  weak  and 
pretty  girl.  The  dance  is  advertised  by  "throw-aways," 
small  cards  that  invite  one  to  the  entertainment. 

There  is  at  present  a  movement  in  the  direction  of 
municipal  dances  as  typified  by  the  recreation  centers 
in  our  public  schools.  In  the  year  1911-1912  there 
were  fourteen  of  these  centers  for  girls  and  women, 
with  an  average  attendance  of  between  300  and  400. 
These  centers  are  precisely  what  their  name  implies. 
There  is  a  study  room  and  a  library,  game  rooms,  baths, 
clubs  and  classes,  music,  moving  pictures  and  lectures. 
Mixed  dancing  classes  have  been  opened,  in  general 
attended  with  great  success.1 

The  general  consensus  of  opinion  is  decidedly  in 
favor  of  these  centers;  reports  received  from  social 
workers  who  have  visited  them  are  universally  in 
favor  of  such  ventures  provided  there  is  adequate  super- 
vision, and  that  the  amusement  provided  is  of  the  best 
type.  But  these  two  provisions  must  be  rigidly  main- 
tained. The  influence  of  the  school  is  strong.  Any 
relaxation  will  be  quickly  noted  and  taken  advantage 
of ;  and  it  were  far  better  to  have  no  recreation  centers 
than  to  have  them  regarded  by  boys  and  girls  as  centers 
where  restraint  is  removed. 

In  January  of  1912  four  centers  were  opened  in  con- 
nection with  the  gymnasia  in  the  public  baths  buildings. 
These  centers  are  provided  with  a  well-equipped  gym- 
nasium where  classes  in  gymnastics  and  folk-dancing 


1  Fourteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  City  Superintendent 
of  Schools :    Special  Report  on  Recreation  Centers. 


THE  LOVE  OF  PLAY  71 

are  carried  on  daily,  and  social  and  neighborhood  dances 
are  frequently  held.1 

The  form  of  amusement  second  in  popularity  if  we 
except  that  amusement  so  popular  at  all  times  and  in 
all  places,  of  walking  the  streets,  is  the  motion  picture 
show.  There  are  in  New  York  City  some  600  of 
these  shows,  500  being  regular  motion  pictures  while  a 
hundred  or  more  use  the  motion  picture  in  connection 
with  vaudeville.  The  attendance  varies  from  day  to 
day,  Sunday  being  of  course  the  largest  day.  The 
average  is  some  400,000  a  day.  Since  the  lowest 
price  of  admission  is  five  cents,  the  poor  of  the  city  are 
paying  out  at  least  $20,000  daily  on  this  form  of  amuse- 
ment. Everything  possible  should  be  done  to  eliminate 
the  evil  features  of  this  form  of  amusement ;  bad  venti- 
lation, dark  halls  and  doubtful  vaudeville.  The 
motion  picture  show  is  one  of  the  best  possible 
forms  of  entertainment  provided  for  our  young 
people.  It  has  replaced  the  cheap  melodrama;  it  is 
so  moderate  in  price  that  it  is  within  the  reach  of  all ; 
and  the  control  of  a  National  Board  of  Censorship 
eliminates  to  a  great  extent  the  possibility  of  pictures 
that  have  a  demoralizing  influence.  The  educational 
opportunities  offered  by  motion  pictures  are  tremen- 
dous and  many  settlements  and  churches  are  making 
use  of  them  for  this  purpose.  One  of  the  most  delight- 
ful sights  in  the  city  is  the  park  directly  in  front  of 
Hudson  Guild  on  a  summer  night  when  out-of-door 
motion  pictures  are  exhibited  to  the  thousands  who 
eagerly  seek  this  pleasure. 

The  dramatic  instinct  is  strong  in  the  young  and  in 

1  Under  the  auspices  of  the  Public  Recreation  Commis- 
sion. 


72  THE  LOVE  OF  PLAY 

spite  of  the  fact  that  motion  pictures  are  so  popular, 
the  theater  still  holds  a  warm  place  in  the  girl's  heart. 
And  they  appreciate  a  good  play.  The  idea  that  our 
girls  want  only  melodrama  is  a  false  one  and  there  is 
here  a  great  opportunity  for  cultivating  the  taste  so 
that  really  good  drama  is  preferred. 

There  is  one  roller  skating  rink  in  New  York  City. 
This  problem  is  at  present  not  a  vital  one  but  it  is  well 
to  remember  that  in  a  few  years  the  cycle  of  amuse- 
ments may  again  bring  it  into  prominence  and  we 
should  be  ready  to  meet  it  with  wholesome  and  ade- 
quate supervision. 

In  the  summer  months,  the  amusement  parks  are 
crowded  to  their  utmost  limit.  We  have  already 
spoken  of  the  excellent  way  in  which  the  Palisades 
Park  is  run.  The  same  cannot  be  said  of  many  of  the 
other  parks.  Coney  Island  is  notorious  for  its  free  and 
easy  manners  which  lead  all  too  surely  to  vice  and  im- 
morality. Anyone  who  has  visited  these  parks  in  the 
height  of  the  season  and  has  watched  the  thousands 
crowding  the  beaches  and  the  near-by  amusement 
places,  who  has  been  an  eye-witness  to  the  licence  al- 
lowed, the  slipping  away  from  conventional  behavior, 
must  have  been  deeply  impressed  with  the  fact  that 
these  resorts  are  most  dangerous  to  the  young  girl. 
Our  citizens  should  demand  and  should  be  provided 
with  clean  and  well  supervised  beaches,  adequate 
bathing-places  and  good  amusements  to  help  them  live 
through  the  hot  summer  months. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  never-exhausted  pleasure  of 
walking  the  streets ;  and  this  is  closely  linked  with  the 
free  hour  at  noon.  Many  stores  and  factories  provide 
rest-rooms  and  luncheons  at  a  nominal  price  for  their 
employes  and  under  such  circumstances  the  girl  is 


THE  LOVE  OF  PLAY  73 

guarded  from  moral  danger.  These  rooms,  however, 
are  in  many  cases  lacking  in  comfort  and  cheer  and 
moreover  give  little  chance  for  that  change  of  environ- 
ment and  companionship  so  necessary  to  continued  effi- 
ciency. If  the  girl  goes  out  to  lunch — and  so  gains  the 
diversion  which  sends  her  back  refreshed  to  her  work — 
she  is  exposed  to  many  temptations  that  her  more  guard- 
ed sister  escapes.  She  has  little  or  no  money  beyond  that 
for  her  lunch  and  car  fare.  On  every  side  the  picture 
shows  flaunt  their  lurid  posters  before  her  eyes  and  on 
every  corner  and  before  every  entrance  groups  of  young 
men  congregate  ready  to  "treat" — and  they  do  not  treat 
for  nothing.  One  Settlement  situated  near  a  large 
factory,  has  thrown  open  its  doors  to  the  factory  girls, 
offering  hot  soup  at  a  few  cents  a  cup  and  a  place  to 
eat  lunch,  and  directly  afterwards  provides  good  music 
for  dancing.  Some  such  device  should  be  used  in  every 
settlement  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  factory  unless  of 
course  the  factory  provides  the  necessary  amusement. 
This  evil  and  danger  of  the  noon  hour  is  greatly  on  the 
increase.  In  the  case  of  the  Italian  girl,  this  hour  is 
peculiarly  fraught  with  danger.  During  work  hours 
she  is  under  the  watchful  eye  of  the  boss,  out  of  work- 
ing hours  she  is  under  the  strict  surveillence  of  her 
parents;  during  this  one  little  hour  she  is  free  and  it 
would  be  strange  indeed  if  in  many  cases  she  were  not 
led  astray. 


IX 
THE  SETTLEMENT  AS  A  FACTOR 

IN  the  last  chapter  we  dealt  entirely  with  those 
agencies  that  provide  recreation  for  the  girl. 
There  are  other  agencies  which  while  affording 
recreational  facilities,  endeavor  to  supply  constructive 
elements  as  well.  And  these  are  the  settlements,  the 
churches  and  the  various  religious  and  secular  organiz- 
ations for  girls. 

There  are  in  Greater  New  York  between  sixty  and 
seventy  settlements.  Thirty-odd  of  these  are  non- 
sectarian  deriving  their  support  from  the  voluntary 
contributions  of  people  not  otherwise  joined  together. 
The  remainder  are  settlements  who  receive  their  sup- 
port from  a  church  or  group  of  churches  or  are  directly 
connected  with  some  one  church.  Besides  these  settle- 
ments there  are  various  organizations  where  activities 
corresponding  to  those  of  the  settlement  are  carried  on. 

In  11911-1912  thirty  settlements  handed  in  sta- 
tistical reports,  giving  a  sum  total  of  3,078  girls 
reached.  In  1912-1913  23  settlements  again  handed 
in  a  revised  report  while  seven  settlements  that 
had  hitherto  taken  no  part  in  the  study  also  sent 
in  reports.  These  reports  gave  the  occupation  and 
nationality  of  girls  between  fourteen  and  sixteen 
years  of  age  and  also  of  those  between  sixteen  and 
eighteen  years,  and  give  a  total  of  3,160  girls.  On 
these  last  reports  the  charts  on  Nationality1  and  Occu- 
pation as  well  as  the  chart  on  Occupation  in  Relation 

i  See  Chart  V. 

74 


THE  SETTLEMENT  AS  A  FACTOR     75 

to  Nationality  are  based.  Of  the  23  settlements  who 
handed  in  reports  both  years,  fourteen  showed  an  in- 
crease in  the  number  of  girls  reached  while  nine  showed 
a  decrease.  The  number  reported  by  the  23  settle- 
ments in  1911-1912  was  2,438,  by  the  same  23  in  1912- 
1913,  2,638,  showing  a  gain  in  numbers  of  200. 

The  total  number  of  girls  between  fourteen  and 
eighteen  years  of  age  reached  by  the  37  settlements 
sending  statistics  is  about  3,800.  Strangely  enough, 
in  almost  every  settlement  it  was  found  that  more 
girls  between  ten  and  fourteen  and  again  between 
eighteen  and  twenty-two  years  were  reached  than  be- 
tween the  given  ages.  Comparing  the  charts  for  the 
different  age-groups,  we  find  that  600  more  girls  be- 
tween sixteen  and  eighteen  are  reached  than  between 
fourteen  and  sixteen.  It  would  seem  that  statistics  as 
well  as  the  general  opinion  of  the  workers  go  to  prove 
the  special  difficulty  of  reaching  girls  of  this  age. 

The  Chart  on  Nationality  shows  an  enormous  per- 
centage of  Jewish  over  other  nationalities.  It  would 
be  of  interest  to  compare  the  percentages  with  the  en- 
tire population  and  possibly  it  would  be  found  that  the 
given  percentages  were  not  so  far  out  of  proportion. 
The  large  groups  are  the  Jewish,  the  Irish,  Italian  and 
American.  The  German  is  smaller  and  the  Slavs,  in- 
cluding the  Bohemians,  Hungarians,  etc.,  number  only 
2%.  The  fact  that  the  nationalities  in  the  settlements 
narrow  down  to  these  few  groups  makes  it  the  more 
possible  to  study  in  detail  the  history  of  each  nationality 
and  the  work  best  adapted  to  it.  The  problem  of 
nationality  and  the  old-world  traditions  is  too  vital  a 
one  to  be  ignored. 

The  activities  for  girls  follow  much  the  same  line  in 
all  the  settlements.  There  are  classes  for  those  who 


76    THE  SETTLEMENT  AS  A  FACTOR 

Chart  V— Nationality  of  Girls  in  Thirty  New  York 
Settlements. 


A.— Total:   1,283. 


Ages :    14-16  years. 


B.— Total:     1,877. 


Ages:     16-18  years. 


THE  SETTLEMENT  AS  A  FACTOR    77 

are  inclined  to  work  ami  clubs  for  those  of  a  more 
social  bent.  There  seems  to  be  a  general  consensus 
of  opinion  that  gymnastics  are  very  valuable  but  that 
there  is  not  much  interest  in  this  line  of  work  on  the 
part  of  the  girls.  However,  in  the  settlements  that  can 
boast  of  a  well  equipped  gymnasium  and  a  well-paid 
and  efficient  teacher,  there  seems  little  difficulty  in  in- 
teresting the  girls.  Perhaps  here  more  than  in  any 
other  branch  there  is  a  necessity  for  efficient  instruc- 
tion and  good  equipment. 

Folk-dancing  is  far  more  popular  and  is  certainly 
most  desirable.  So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain, 
there  are  only  two  settlements  where  social  dancing  is 
not  allowed.  One  is  distinctly  a  church  house,  the 
other  is  supported  by  a  church.  In  spite  of  the  broader 
point  of  view  than  that  obtaining  some  years  ago  on 
this  subject  of  dancing,  there  are  still  those  who 
question  the  wisdom  of  allowing  it.  At  one  of  the 
largest  dance  halls  one  night,  leaning  over  the  balcony 
and  watching  the  crowd  below,  I  said  to  one  whose 
broad  outlook  on  life  and  sympathetic  touch  with  young 
people  make  him  a  power  in  his  corner  of  the  world, 
"What  do  you  think  of  it  all?  Do  you  approve?  Is  it 
right"?  "It  is — inevitable,"  was  the  reply.  And  in 
this  answer  lies  the  crux  of  the  whole  matter.  The 
young  dance  as  naturally  as  a  kitten  plays;  the  im- 
pulse is  as  universal,  as  primitive;  and  to  our  shame 
be  it  spoken  that  we  provide  no  safe  place  for  this  form 
of  pleasure  but  hand  over  the  means  of  gratifying  it 
to  those  agencies  who  for  commercial  gain  exploit  the 
natural  craving  of  youth. 

The  settlements  have  done  much  to  uplift  the  amuse- 
ment of  dancing.  Some  six  or  eight  settlements  have 
regular  weekly  dances,  open  to  the  public  and  these 


78    THE  SETTLEMENT  AS  A  FACTOR 

have  been  in  some  cases  successful.  The  weekly  dances 
open  to  club  members  have  succeeded  in  every  par- 
ticular. The  young  people  regard  these  dances  and  the 
standards  set  as  "high  but  the  thing."  One  girl,  after 
a  dance  in  a  public  hall,  was  heard  to  say  in  that  apt 
phrasing  that  expresses  so  fully  the  sentiment  of  the 
speaker,  "The  Settlement  for  ours" !  At  an  east  side 
dance,  where  the  dancing,  except  for  a  small  group, 
was  of  the  toughest  type,  an  outsider,  watching,  finally 
pointed  out  the  few  good  dancers  and  asked  for  an  ex- 
planation. "Oh,  they're  from  the  Settlement,"  was  the 
reply. 

Turning  our  attention  to  girls'  clubs  as  such,  we 
find  much  diversity.  The  so-called  "social  club"  usually 
does  a  little  of  everything  and  at  this  age  variety  spells 
success.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  workers  with 
girls  in  the  city  changes  the  work  of  her  club  from 
month  to  month.  Suggestions  are  handed  in  by  the 
girls  and  these  are  discussed  and  voted  upon  in  the 
business  meeting.  One  month  they  sew,  another  read 
or  debate,  a  third  month  they  will  have  a  course  of 
lectures  or  get  up  a  play.  This  occupies  only  a  part  of 
the  evening  for  a  social  club  feels  defrauded  of  its 
natural  right  if  the  evening  does  not  end  in  games  or 
a  dance. 

With  the  Jewish  young  people  debates,  literary 
meetings,  and  dramatics  are  popular;  among  the 
Italians  and  Slavic  races  we  find  manual  work  popular 
while  the  Irish  and  American  girls  are  more  inclined 
to  an  evening  of  fun.  But  special  stress  should  be  laid 
on  the  necessity  of  every  club  doing  something  of  real 
value  if  it  be  only  for  fifteen  minutes.  It  is  all  too 
easy  to  spend  the  evening  in  a  social  good  time  and  on 
occasion  right  and  wise;  but  to  let  week  after  week 


THE  SETTLEMENT  AS  A  FACTOR     79 

slip  by  with  nothing  but  dancing  is  neither  wise  nor 
right.  And  in  the  end  the  club  members  will  prove 
more  loyal  to  the  club  and  to  the  settlement  if  they  can 
look  back  and  see  something  of  worth  accomplished. 
Social  club  work  as  well  as  class  work  must  be  con- 
structive to  be  successful,  and  a  good  leader  can  sense 
the  feeling  of  the  club  and  make  her  suggestions  at  the 
right  moment.  As  one  director  of  girls'  work  has  said, 
the  success  of  a  club  depends  mainly  upon  two  things — 
first,  upon  throwing  as  much  responsibility  on  the  girls 
as  possible;  and  second,  upon  enlisting  the  girls'  sym- 
pathies in  service  for  others. 

An  interesting  scheme  has  been  recently  tried  by  one 
of  the  New  York  Settlements,  of  placing  a  younger 
club  in  the  hands  of  a  club  of  long  and  good  standing. 
An  incident  is  related  of  such  a  club  where  a  party  had 
been  arranged  for  the  younger  girls.  To  the  older 
girls'  horror,  the  fifteen  younger  girls  arrived  on  the 
evening  of  the  party  with  fifteen  boys  in  tow!  "What 
shall  we  do?"  exclaimed  the  girl  leaders  to  the  club 
director.  "Entertain  them,"  was  the  response,  and  for 
two  hours  the  older  girls  played  games,  danced,  and 
served  refreshments.  After  the  boys  and  girls  had  de- 
parted, loudly  rejoicing  at  the  evening's  pleasure,  the 
older  girls  sank  down,  limp  and  exhausted.  "Now," 
said  their  leader,  "You  can  see  how  tired  I  used  to  get 
when  you  had  parties."  "Gee,  I  never  thought  of 
that,"  said  one  girl  solemnly  and  the  rest  looked 
thoughtful.  The  responsibility  assumed  for  that  young- 
er club  had  put  them  in  touch  with  their  leader  in  the 
way  that  nothing  else  could  have  done. 

Committee  and  other  routine  work  is  of  the  utmost 
value.  Every  club  should  be  self-governing  with  a 
frequent  change  of  officers  and  as  much  of  the  routine 


8o    THE  SETTLEMENT  AS  A  FACTOR 

work  as  possible  should  be  given  to  the  girls.  The  very 
fact  that  the  girls  lack  this  business  sense  is  a  reason 
for  cultivating  it.  The  meeting  should  always  follow 
adopted  rules  of  order  and  the  girls  should  be  en- 
couraged to  express  their  own  point  of  view  in  a  busi- 
ness-like way. 

Small  groups  succeed  better  than  large  ones  although 
occasional  meetings  of  all  the  clubs  are  advisable.  A 
plan  that  has  worked  out  successfully  at  one  of  the  set- 
tlements is  to  have  every  girls'  club  entertain  all  the 
remaining  clubs  at  least  once  during  the  winter.  The 
different  groups  in  this  way  become  acquainted  and  a 
certain  spirit  of  friendly  competition  adds  zest  to  the 
undertaking. 

The  whole  question  of  mixed  clubs  has  excited  much 
attention.  In  one  settlement  certain  boys  and  girls 
of  the  adolescent  age  help  in  various  ways  with  the 
younger  children  and  once  a  week  meet  together  to 
discuss  how  they  may  do  better  work.  Some  few  set- 
tlements have  successful  mixed  clubs  among  the  Jewish 
young  people  but  so  far  as  I  know,  with  the  exception 
of  the  above,  there  is  not  a  single  mixed  club  for 
younger  boys  and  girls  in  any  settlement  in  New  York. 
The  tendency,  however,  to  throw  boys'  and  girls'  clubs 
together  for  a  good  time  is  growing  constantly  and 
bids  fair  to  solve  the  problem.  In  many  settlements 
the  monthly  dance  has  become  an  established  custom. 
In  some  cases,  two  clubs  of  the  same  age  and  social 
rank,  take  turns  entertaining  each  other.  In  other 
cases,  it  has  been  found  advisable  to  allow  the  club 
members  to  invite  their  outside  friends.  In  one  settle- 
ment a  House  Council  passes  on  the  dance  and  decides 
all  matters  pertaining  to  it.  In  another  settlement  the 
House  Council  also  decides  whether  the  status  of  the 


THE  SETTLEMENT  AS  A  FACTOR    81 

individual  clubs  is  such  that  they  are  entitled  to  be 
represented  on  the  Council.  The  standard  here  is 
markedly  high ;  no  club  may  become  a  senior  club  and 
hence  receive  recognition  from  the  Council  and  inci- 
dentally have  the  right  to  attend  the  dances,  until  it 
has  been  in  existence  at  least  three  months,  can  show 
an  average  age  of  eighteen  years,  and  has  proved  itself 
worthy  in  loyalty  to  the  house  and  in  upholding  fine 
ideals  in  manners  and  morals. 

Social  rank  holds  here  as  elsewhere  and  care  should 
be  taken  in  the  smaller  mixed  clubs  to  throw  together 
only  those  of  the  same  social  status.  One  settlement 
is  solving  the  problem  in  an  unique  way.  Whenever  a 
boys'  or  girls'  club  is  organized,  steps  are  immediately 
taken  to  get  in  touch  with  those  of  the  opposite 
sex  who  are  friends  of  the  club  members  and 
in  time  another  club  is  developed  ready  to  meet  with 
the  first  club  when  occasion  demands.  This  mingling 
together  of  boys  and  girls  in  a  wholesome  way  is  much 
to  be  desired.  Summer  camps  offer  here  a  great  op- 
portunity. Those  who  have  visited  Mt.  Ivy  of  Col- 
lege Settlement  and  have  watched  the  healthy  pleasures 
of  the  young  people,  will  certainly  indorse  any  plap 
that  throws  the  boy  and  girl  together  in  so  natural  a 
manner. 

Whatever  lines  of  work  may  be  developed  in  the 
future  with  regard  to  this  question,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  young  people  will  meet  and  that  the  street 
is  practically  their  only  meeting  place  under  existing 
circumstances.  The  call  of  sex  is  strong;  the  awaken- 
ing springs  of  life  drive  onward  heedlessly  these  young 
things,  and  their  crude  half-shamed  attempts  to  attract 
attention  would  seem  unmaidenly  if  they  were  not  so 
pitiful.  The  story  of  one  girls'  club  is  worth  reciting. 


82    THE  SETTLEMENT  AS  A  FACTOR 

A  dance  had  been  planned  and  great  excitement  pre- 
vailed because  the  club  leader  had  consented  to  each 
girl  asking  a  boy  friend.  What  was  her  surprise,  then, 
to  discover  at  the  final  meeting  a  strong  sentiment 
against  having  boys.  She  was  frankly  puzzled.  The 
girls  had  been  most  eager;  they  were  girls  a  little  in- 
clined to  be  loud,  certainly  a  type  that  would  want 
boys;  but  their  attitude  was  distinctly  changed.  "Aw, 
we  don't  want  no  fellers";  "We  can  have  more  fun 
alone";  "Let's  cut  'em  out"  expressed  the  sentiment 
of  the  girls.  The  leader  assented  to  the  new  point  of 
view,  still  puzzled,  and  the  evening  of  the  dance  came. 
And  then  after  the  second  dance  the  leader  was  ap- 
proached by  two  of  the  girls  who  casually  alluded  to  a 
boys'  club  meeting  in  the  room  overhead.  "They're 
mighty  nice  fellows,  ain't  they?"  was  asked.  Other 
girls  gathered  round  and  then  to  the  utter  surprise  of 
the  leader,  some  one  suggested  that  the  club  be  asked 
down!  "But  you  didn't  want  boys"!  she  said.  "Aw, 
well,  we  don't  mind  'em,"  was  the  response.  And  sud- 
denly a  light  dawned  on  the  leader  and  she  suspected 
what  later  she  found  to  be  the  case,  that  these  girls 
actually  did  not  know  any  boys  to  invite  and  had  taken 
great  pains  to  arrange  the  little  scheme  by  which  they 
might  meet  their  mates. 

It  would  hardly  be  right  to  drop  the  subject  of  club 
activities  without  a  word  about  dramatics.  Such  ex- 
cellent work  is  being  done  along  this  line,  however, 
that  more  than  a  word  is  unnecessary.  One  leader 
calls  attention  to  the  elements  in  this  dramatic  work 
that  make  for  success:  "Opportunity  for  self-expres- 
sion and  a  worthy  aim  and  standard  of  achievement." 
It  would  be  an  advantage  if  more  work  could  be  done 
with  mixed  clubs;  this  succeeds  admirably  at  Hull 


THE  SETTLEMENT  AS  A  FACTOR    83 

House  even  with  little  children.  I  would  also  suggest 
that  charades  form  one  of  the  most  delightful  amuse- 
ments that  can  be  suggested  for  a  club  and  after  a  lit- 
tle experience  the  girls  will  greatly  enjoy  an  evening 
spent  in  this  way.  There  seems  to  be  a  great  need  for 
good  short  plays ;  moreover,  it  is  most  advisable  to  use 
plays  of  as  high  a  literary  grade  as  possible  and  there 
are  not  many  such  plays. 

It  is  not  possible  to  speak  of  the  many  ways  and 
means  by  which  girls  may  be  interested  and  held.  Teas, 
parties,  excursions,  exhibits,  trips  to  museums  and 
theaters,  talks  and  lectures,  all  tend  to  aid  in  the  good 
work.  An  effort  should  be  made  to  encourage  good 
reading  and  occasionally  one  is  astonished  at  the  re- 
markably good  taste  shown  by  the  girls  themselves. 
In  our  study  of  sixty  girls  on  the  middle  east  side  two 
sisters — Russian  Jews — were  found  who  had  just  fin- 
ished Spencer's  Education  and  were  at  the  time  greatly 
interested  in  Ibson's  Ghosts. 

Finally,  it  must  again  be  emphasized  that  the  set- 
tlement is  the  best  agent  for  giving  to  the  girl  more 
vita)  contacts  for  enjoyment.  The  greater  the  number 
of  the  goods  of  life  that  one  enjoys,  the  more  sane  and 
worth  while  life  becomes.  And  one  of  the  most  piti-v 
ful  aspects  of  the  whole  situation  to  my  mind  is  the 
intense  longing  of  these  girls  for  fun  and  the  narrow 
interpretation  put  on  this  word  "fun"  by  the  young 
people  of  our  cities. 

In  most  settlements  the  number  of  girls  reached 
keeps  approximately  the  same  from  year  to  year  or  per- 
haps increases  to  some  extent.  There  is  one  question  per- 
tinent, however:  does  the  shift  from  position  to  po- 
sition in  the  industrial  world  make  itself  felt  in  the 
settlements?  In  other  words,  do  we  reach  the  same 


84    THE  SETTLEMENT  AS  A  FACTOR 

girls  year  after  year  or  does  the  membership  constantly 
change?  And  if  so,  why?  Kingsley  House,  of  Pitts- 
burgh, Pa.,  has  made  an  interesting  study  of  this  very 
question.  It  was  found  here  that  while  the  total  regi- 
stration varied  little  from  year  to  year,  there  were 
several  hundred  girls  who  did  not  come  back  and 
whose  places  were  filled  by  others.  An  extended  in- 
quiry was  made  with  some  of  the  following  results: 
that  3Q%  of  the  girls  had  moved  away,  many  leaving 
no  trace  with  even  their  nearest  neighbors;  17%  had 
registered  at  other  and  newer  centers,  10%  were  kept 
away  on  account  of  school  work,  and  15%  had  started 
in  to  work  and  "were  too  tired"  or  "too  busy."  Such 
a  study  points  out  the  necessity  of  some  follow-up 
system  by  which  those  who  move  away  can  be  placed 
in  other  settlements  and  those  who  are  "too  tired"  and 
"too  busy"  may  be  encouraged  and  helped.  It  seems 
neither  thrifty  nor  right  to  lose  sight  of  those  who  in 
the  truest  and  best  sense  of  the  word,  are  assets  of  the 
settlement. 


X 

THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  GIRL 

IN  the  eighty-two  Protestant  churches  who  answer- 
ed our  request  for  information,  we  find  3,903 
girls  in  clubs  and  classes  outside  of  the  regular 
religious  classes.1    The  girls  are  of  all  types.     Perhaps 
the  American  girl  predominates  but  every  nationality 
and  every  occupation  is  found.     The  work  is  in  the 
main  very  much  of  the  type  done  by  the  settlements ;  the 

1  During  the  survey,  150  churches  were  selected,  all  of 
which  were  doing  social  work.  Following  is  a  list  of  de- 
nominations written  to  and  the  number  of  answers  re- 
ceived : 

Letters  written    Replies  rec'd 

Protestant  Episcopal    44  27 

Presbyterian 30  20 

Dutch  Reformed 15  13 

Baptist  12  5 

Methodist  10  2 

Lutheran  7  i 

Congregational   5  i 

Unitarian    3  3 

Universalist   2  I 

Undenominational   20  9 

148  82 

The  work  among  the  Jewish  girls  is  done  through  the 
many  admirable  agencies  found  throughout  the  city.  The 
Roman  Catholic  girls  of  this  age  are  reached  by  the  So- 
ciety known  as  the  Children  of  Mary.  Letters  to  promi- 
nent rabbis  and  priests  and  interviews  with  those  who  are 
in  touch  with  girls  of  the  Jewish  and  Roman  Catholic 
faiths,  give  the  basis  for  information  along  these  lines. 

8s 


86         THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  GIRL 

classes  furnish  sewing,  cooking,  basketry,  etc.,  while 
the  clubs  arc  social  with  usually  some  definite  object  in 
view.  Model  flats  are  found  where  the  girls  often 
entertain  their  friends;  dancing  is  spoken  of  many 
times  but  only  three  times  in  connection  with  mixed 
classes;  some  few  churches  find  employment  for  their 
girls  and  several  churches  have  lunch-rooms  where  a 
hearty  lunch  is  provided  at  a  nominal  rate.  In  almost 
every  church  the  object  of  the  club  and  class  work  is 
both  religious  and  social;  in  four  cases  it  is  frankly 
social.  This  work  is  vitally  connected  with  the  church 
work  in  fifty-one  churches;  it  is  separate  in  six 
churches;  there  is  no  reply  to  this  question  in  the  re- 
maining twenty-five  churches.  To  the  question,  "Is 
definite  religious  instruction  given  ?"  48  answer  "Yes/' 
10  answer  "No,"  and  the  rest  ignore  the  question. 
The  question  was  also  asked  "Is  the  standard  of  mo- 
rality high"  ?  Twenty-six  ignored  this  question ;  one 
said  "We  hope  so";  one  "On  the  average,  yes";  an- 
other said  "Yes,  with  a  few  exceptions";  43  boldly 
answered  "Yes";  one  bluntly  replied  "No,  it  isn't"! 

Churches  of  the  present  day  are  awakening  to  the 
need  of  social  life  and  recreation  for  the  young.  The 
good  old  days  are  over  when  the  pastor  knew  each 
member  of  his  flock  and  he  must  rely  on  others  to  help 
him  in  his  work.  Through  these  clubs  and  classes  he 
and  his  assistants  are  able  to  come  vitally  in  touch 
with  the  young  people  of  the  congregation.  And  this 
is  a  necessary  thing  if  we  are  to  hold  our  young 
people  in  the  church. 

As  life  interests  multiply  and  less  time  is  available 
for  quiet  thought,  the  old  religious  forms  are  dying 
out.  The  foreigner,  coming  to  this  country  with  a 
different  viewpoint  and  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  in- 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  GIRL         87 

dependence,  casts  impatiently  aside  the  home  traditions 
and  with  them,  in  many  cases  his  religious  affiliations. 
Among  the  Jewish  people,  the  old  religious  forms  have 
to-day  no  such  vital  hold  on  the  young  men  and  women 
as  formerly;  the  Italians  are  hardly  the  ardent  Catho- 
lics of  a  generation  ago;  the  Bohemians  are  notably 
free  thinkers.  In  a  study  recently  made  of  sixty  girls 
on  the  upper  east  side,  almost  every  family  had  religious 
affiliations  in  the  old  country;  scarcely  one  of  them 
was  connected  with  a  New  York  church.  The  trend 
of  the  times  is  steadily  away  from  the  church  doctrines 
and  stress  is  laid  on  the  brotherhood  of  man  rather 
than  on  the  fatherhood  of  God. 

But  religion  means  more  than  form  or  doctrine. 
Does  it  matter  at  all  whether  a  girl  be  Jewish,  Protes- 
tant or  Catholic  or  even  a  free  thinker,  if  her  spiritual 
nature  be  so  awakened  that  it  dominates  her  everyday 
life?  And  this  spiritual  insight,  from  whatever  source 
it  comes,  is  necessary. 

Moreover,  it  is  not  only  the  individual  that  needs 
this  spiritual  impetus.  Some  common  faith  is  necessary 
also  for  the  conservation  of  a  united  family  life. 

It  is  to  the  churches  that  we  turn  in  this  crisis. 
And  it  is  noteworthy  that  the  churches  whose  doors  stand 
wide  open  through  the  week  for  clubs  and  classes  of 
every  type,  whose  heads,  whether  priest  or  pastor  or 
rabbi,  know  the  everyday  lives  of  its  members,  are  the 
ones  whose  aisles  are  crowded  on  Sunday  with  those 
who  long  to  understand  the  meaning  of  the  fatherhood 
of  God. 


XI 
ORGANIZATIONS  FOR  GIRLS 

IN 

NEW  YORK  CITY 

WITH  the  newly  awakened  interest  in  the 
young  girl,  there  has  sprung  into  being 
many  organizations  for  girls.  Some  of 
these,  in  particular  those  of  a  religious  nature,  have 
been  in  existence  for  many  years,  but  the  majority  date 
back  hardly  a  decade.  The  older  organizations  are  re- 
vising their  aims  and  constitutions;  and  the  newer 
ones  seek,  each  in  its  own  way,  to  answer  to  the  girls' 
needs.  From  the  almost  complete  neglect  of  the  girl 
and  her  point  of  view,  we  are  coming  to  the  time  in  the 
near  future  where  we  will  consider  her — as  she  has  a 
right  to  be  considered — our  greatest  asset  to  the  future's 
good. 

The  growth  of  the  Young  Woman's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation in  the  last  few  years  is  most  gratifying.  It  now 
has  the  metropolitan  form  of  organization,  comprising 
eight  branches  doing  work  in  eleven  different  centers. 
Junior  activities  include  classes  for  the  younger  girls 
in  Bible  study,  sewing,  dressmaking,  millinery,  em- 
broidery, crocheting,  gymnastics,  swimming  and  book- 
binding. Most  of  the  work  is  done  under  club  forma- 
tion; that  is,  one  club  of  girls  will  take  up  several 
different  kinds  of  activities,  having  short  sessions  of 
each  in  one  evening,  or  taking  up  different  subjects  on 
succeeding  evenings.  Glee  and  dramatic  clubs  are  very 
popular  among  the  younger  girls,  but  the  Camp  Fire 

88 


ORGANIZATIONS  FOR  GIRLS          89 

groups  are  the  most  enthusiastic.  A  central  Recrea- 
tion Center,  where  the  interests  of  the  younger  girls 
will  receive  much  consideration  has  been  recently 
opened.  The  spirit  of  doing  kindly  things  for  people 
less  fortunate  than  themselves  permeates  all  the  clubs. 

The  majority  of  those  reached  are  school  girls,  but 
many  are  cash  girls,  and  some  work  in  factories  and 
stores.  Many  Jewish  and  Catholic  girls  as  well  as  the 
Protestant  girls,  take  advantage  of  the  Junior  Depart- 
ment. 

The  recent  building  campaign  is  opening  up  to  the 
Association  splendid  opportunities  for  greater  work  in 
New  York  City  and  according  to  the  trend  of  the 
times,  much  effort  is  being  made  to  help  the  girl  be- 
tween fourteen  and  eighteen  years  of  age. 

The  Young  Women's  Hebrew  Association  is  en- 
gaged in  much  the  same  lines  of  work.  There  are  social 
and  literary  clubs,  entertainments,  dances  and  lec- 
tures. On  Friday  night  religious  services  are  held. 
Besides  many  educational  classes  in  the  evening,  in- 
cluding Hebrew,  Jewish  history,  dressmaking,  stenog- 
raphy and  physical  culture,  the  association  has  a  day 
commercial  school.  It  has  also  a  free  employment 
bureau  and  the  dormitory  offers  an  excellent  home  at  a 
low  cost.  A  new  eight-story  building,  which  will  give 
the  association  an  added  opportunity  for  work,  is  now 
in  process  of  construction. 

The  Educational  Alliance  is  reaching  2,060  girls 
between  fourteen  and  eighteen  years  of  age,  nearly  all 
of  whom  are  recent  immigrants.  The  girls  are  entirely 
Jewish;  787  are  found  in  school,  763  in  factories,  339 
in  offices  (it  will  be  seen  that  here  the  percentages  for 
offices  is  much  lower  and  for  factories  much  higher 
than  in  the  reports  for  the  settlements)  and  only  47 


90          ORGANIZATIONS  FOR  GIRLS 

in  stores.  One  hundred  and  twenty-one  are  at  home 
and  three  in  domestic  service.  The  Alliance  is  a  great 
club  house  for  the  people  and  perhaps  nowhere  in 
New  York  can  so  many  young  people  meet  together 
for  a  good  time  or  for  actual  work  in  so  natural  a  way. 

The  Hebrew  Educational  Society  of  Brooklyn  car- 
ries on  work  along  the  same  lines  as  the  Educational 
Alliance.  The  clubs  and  classes  reach  a  total  of  230 
girls  between  fourteen  and  eighteen  years  of  age.  The 
girls  are  entirely  Jewish.  We  find  here  as  in  the 
Educational  Alliance  that  the  largest  number — 124 — 
are  in  public  or  trade  schools.  Here,  however,  the 
office  girls,  numbering  7)1,  far  outrank  those  in  other 
trades.  Factory  girls  number  only  16,  store  girls  only 
three  and  there  are  none  in  domestic  service.  There 
is  a  small  professional  group — four  teachers,  one  artist 
and  one  social  worker. 

The  three  most  notable  religious  organizations  for 
girls  are  the  Girls'  Friendly  Society  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  the  King's  Daughters,  and  the  So- 
dality of  the  Children  of  Mary  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  The  two  latter  are  a  great  power  for  good 
in  many  churches  but  they  lack  the  splendid  organiz- 
ation of  the  Girls'  Friendly  Society.  This  society  was 
founded  in  England  in  1875  and  can  doubtless  claim 
the  right  of  being  the  oldest  organization  for  girls  in 
existence.  The  aim  and  purpose  is  character  building, 
and  believing  that  this  aim  can  only  be  promoted  by 
the  influence  of  religion,  the  organization  is  funda- 
mentally religious.  The  girl  members  may  belong  to 
any  religious  body  or  to  none,  but  must  be  girls  of 
good  character ;  the  leader  or  associate,  as  she  is  called, 
must  be  a  communicant  of  the  English  Church  or  its 
sister  Church  in  America.  Its  activities  are  much  the 


ORGANIZATIONS  FOR  GIRLS          91 

same  as  other  organizations — entertainments,  lectures, 
classes  and  clubs.  Summer  homes  are  a  prominent 
feature  of  the  work.  Its  world-wide  membership  gives 
it  a  great  opportunity  for  work  and  so  vital  a  connec- 
tion is  kept  up  between  the  various  local  societies  that 
when  a  girl  changes  her  residence,  she  can  be  immedi- 
ately transferred  from  her  own  society  to  the  one  in  her 
new  home ;  and  often  a  girl,  when  travelling  alone,  is 
met  at  station  after  station  by  the  associates  and  so 
sent  safely  on  her  way. 

The  King's  Daughters,  while  distinctly  a  Christian 
sisterhood,  is  not  in  any  sense  denominational  or  sec- 
tarian. It  welcomes  all  who  are  willing  to  work  for 
humanity  in  the  name  and  for  the  sake  of  Christ.  Each 
circle  is  left  free  to  choose  its  own  officers  and  decide 
upon  its  own  activities  provided  it  keeps  always  in  view 
the  objects  stated  in  the  constitution  of  the  society — 
namely,  "the  development  of  spiritual  life,  and  the 
stimulation  of  Christian  activities."  The  members 
are  pledged  as  well  to  help  in  every  line  of  work  es- 
tablished for  the  good  of  mankind  and  in  many  cities 
they  have  greatly  influenced  legislative  action  in  pass- 
ing better  laws  for  child  labor,  factory  inspection,  com- 
pulsory education,  etc.  Their  activities  are  wide- 
spread; diet  kitchens,  day  nurseries,  lunch  and  rest 
rooms,  food  and  fuel  clubs,  libraries,  vacation  homes; 
these  are  a  few  of  the  many  good  works  in  which  the 
members  of  this  organization  are  interested. 

The  Sodality  of  the  Children  of  Mary  is  the  great 
junior  organization  for  the  younger  girls  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  The  excellent  system  of  graduating 
children  from  one  organization  to  another  as  they  grow 
older,  so  that  no  child  is  lost  sight  of  from  babyhood 
to  man  or  womanhood,  deserves  great  credit  and  might 


92          ORGANIZATIONS  FOR  GIRLS 

well  be  copied  by  other  churches.  The  Sisters,  who 
give  their  lives  to  this  work,  exert  a  strong  influence 
over  the  girls  and  aside  from  the  many  activities  of  the 
organization,  the  development  of  the  spiritual  life  is 
continually  sought. 

The  Girls'  Athletic  League  was  organized  in  1905, 
having  no  official  relation  with  the  Board  of  Education 
until  the  fall  of  1909,  when  the  Board  authorized  its 
control  of  all  athletics  pertaining  to  girls  in  the  public 
schools,  and  established  a  department  of  girls'  athletics 
as  a  part  of  the  department  of  physical  training.  This 
attempt  to  Interest  girls  in  athletics  and  out-door  sports 
has  been  most  successful.  The  total  membership 
numbers  nearly  23,000  girls  of  all  ages,  and  there  are 
doubtless  some  8,000  girls  enrolled  between  the  ages 
of  fourteen  and  eighteen  years.  The  development  of 
the  sportsmanlike  spirit  among  our  girls  is  excellent. 
Fair  play,  team  work,  loyalty  to  a  cause,  these  are  vir- 
tues well  worth  developing.  Physical  examinations, 
all  kinds  of  land  and  water  sports,  park  fetes,  dancing 
and  gymnasium  work,  above  all,  a  systematic  study  of 
the  physical  needs  of  the  girl,  tend  to  make  this  or- 
ganization a  great  power  for  good  in  the  girl's  world. 

The  New  York  Association  of  Women  Workers  is 
a  state  organization  of  working  girls'  clubs.  It  num- 
bers 41  clubs,  24  of  these  being  in  Greater  New  York. 
The  membership  is  about  3,000.  The  clubs  are  recre- 
ational and  educational,  non-sectarian,  self-governing 
and  self  supporting.  The  association  maintains  two 
houses  at  the  seashore  for  its  members,  two  summer 
camps,  a  Mutual  Benefit  Fund  and  Sunday  afternoon 
teas,  besides  of  course  the  usual  club  activities.  Every 
two  years,  together  with  six  other  state  associations,  a 
convention  is  held  where  from  three  hundred  to  six 


ORGANIZATIONS  FOR  GIRLS          93 

hundred  girls  visit  some  interesting  city,  where,  be- 
sides opportunities  for  sight  seeing,  club  meetings  and 
discussions  of  club  problems  and  ideals  are  held.  In 
the  past  two  years  the  clubs  have  contributed  to  the 
association,  besides  their  regular  dues,  almost  $2,000 
which  of  course  they  have  earned  themselves! 

In  1911-1912,  with  a  remarkable  social  and  financial 
backing,  a  new  organization  for  girls  was  started  under 
the  name  of  the  Vacation  Savings  Fund  Association. 
The  organization  has  grown  at  a  tremendous  speed. 
The  members  deposit  weekly  a  certain  portion  of  their 
earnings,  receiving  the  money  again  when  vacation 
time  comes.  The  entertainments  and  excursions  as  well 
as  the  "Spug"  movement  of  the  holiday  season  call  the 
public's  attention  to  the  society  in  a  very  definite  way 
and  its  success  has  been  remarkable.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  it  fills  a  real  need. 

An  interesting  and  somewhat  unique  organization 
has  recently  been  started  by  the  New  York  Probation 
and  Protective  Association  to  interest  girls  in  helping 
other  girls.  This  is  known  as  the  Girls'  Protective 
Leagues.  The  members  of  the  leagues  are  pledged  to 
give  their  help  along  three  lines:  to  assist  in  bettering 
moral  conditions  by  lending  their  aid  to  the  individual 
girl  who  is  in  danger,  by  furnishing  data  that  will  help 
the  association  in  its  war  against  vice  and  immorality 
and  by  reporting  any  immoral  conditions  of  which  they 
are  cognisant;  second,  they  are  pledged  to  help  along 
economic  lines  by  making  a  study  of  present  day  prob- 
lems and  by  reporting  bad  conditions  in  places  of  work ; 
and  third,  they  are  pledged  to  assist  in  every  way  pos- 
sible in  improving  recreational  conditions.  There  are 
now  in  Greater  New  York  23  leagues  with  a  member- 
ship of  over  1,400  girls.  The  leagues  have  headquar- 


94          ORGANIZATIONS  FOR  GIRLS 

ters  where  an  employment  bureau  is  open  daily  and 
where  club-rooms  with  attractive  reading  matter, 
music,  etc.,  are  provided.  But  the  main  object  of  the 
leagues  is  never  lost  sight  of  and  the  regular  monthly 
meetings  are  devoted  to  talks  and  discussions  on  topics 
which  touch  daily  life.  Every  girl  is  given  the  op- 
portunity of  hearing  a  course  of  sex-hygiene  lectures 
and  such  topics  are  discussed  as  "How  We  Live,"  the 
"White  Slave  Traffic,"  "The  Possibilities  of  Life"  and 
"Promoting  Efficiency."  While  this  organization  deals 
with  the  hard  and  often  cruel  facts  of  life,  a  fine  note 
of  idealism  is  struck  in  the  underlying  principle  of 
service  for  others;  and  the  response  of  the  girls  to 
this  call  for  help  from  those  less  fortunate  than  them- 
selves shows  the  possibility  of  developing  among  work- 
ing girls  a  very  beautiful  spirit  of  helpfulness  and  co- 
operation. 

The  Camp-Fire  Girls  was  started  in  1912.  It  is  an 
organization,  not  for  girls,  but  of  girls,  entirely  sup- 
ported by  the  dues  of  its  members.  Its  purpose  is  to 
make  common  every-day  duties  interesting  and  ro- 
mantic, and  while  it  is  not  a  religious  organization  in 
the  accepted  sense  of  the  word,  it  calls  for  a  definite 
standard  from  its  members.  In  its  seven  groups  of 
honors  there  are  certain  requirements  and  by  no  means 
easy  ones,  that  test  a  girrs  physical,  mental  and  moral 
strength  in  a  very  real  way  and  provide  a  definite  goal 
as  an  incentive  to  effort.  The  watchwords  are  Work, 
Health  and  Love,  for  with  adequate  work,  perfect 
health  and  hearts  full  of  love,  girls  are  well  equipped. 
It  is  distinctly  an  adolescent  movement.  All  other 
organizations  make  their  appeal  to  girls  sixteen  and 
seventeen  years  and  over;  that  this  makes  its  appeal 
to  the  younger  group  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  the 


ORGANIZATIONS  FOR  GIRLS          95 

less  than  two  years  of  its  existence,  over  70,000  girls 
have  joined. 

The  Women's  Trade  Union  League  has  grown 
enormously  in  the  last  few  years.  During  the  nine 
years  of  the  league's  existence,  the  actual  number  of 
women  in  organizations  affiliated  with  the  league  has 
increased  from  8,000  to  over  51,000.  Gradually  the 
feeling  of  loyalty  and  of  group  spirit  is  making  its  way 
among  our  working  girls  and  the  number  who,  because 
of  their  intense  desire  to  help  the  less  fortunate  sister, 
have  left  good  wages  and  have  gone  out  on  strike  when 
the  call  has  come,  arouses  one's  enthusiasm  and  admira- 
tion. The  unions  are  even  more  necessary  for  women 
than  for  men,  not  alone  because  of  their  use  as  weap- 
ons of  defense  but  mainly  and  chiefly  because  woman 
yet  lacks  that  social  conscience  which  will  make  her  an 
efficient  and  useful  member  of  the  community. 


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